Coalition Forces Remove Eight Suspects from Terrorist Networks

American Forces Press Service

Nov. 9, 2008 - Two suspected terrorists were captured and six others were detained as coalition forces continued to systematically dismantle terrorist networks in Iraq during operations yesterday and today, military officials reported. Forces operating in Baghdad yesterday captured a suspect who is believed to be a financier for a terrorist group. He and one additional suspect were detained without incident.

Coalition forces detained three suspects during an operation in Mosul yesterday targeting an alleged foreign terrorist involved in roadside-bomb operations.

In Tikrit today, coalition forces dealt a blow to terrorist communication networks when they captured a suspect who reports suggest is a courier for terrorists in the region. The suspected terrorist surrendered himself to ground forces during the operation, and two men believed to be his associates were detained for further questioning.

In other operations yesterday:

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers discovered munitions in two separate areas – Saydiyah and Aamel -- in southern Baghdad's Rashid district.

-- Acting on a tip from a local citizen, soldiers serving with the 101st Airborne Division's Troop C, 4th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, seized a cache in Baghdad's Mansour district. The munitions included a Dragonov rifle with scope, nine sticks of explosives, five 82 mm mortars, five Dragonov magazines, seven rocket-propelled grenade propellants, an 82 mm illumination round, a rocket, 10 artillery fuses, three canisters of C4 explosive, seven rifle grenade rods, four grenade fuses, 21 MP5 magazines, three belts of ammunition, five M-203 rounds, 125 sniper rounds, an M-19 round, three project boxes, 100 feet of detonation cord, a spool of wire, a periscope, an RPG site, a potential pipe bomb, a washing machine timer with blasting cap and two wireless doorbell clickers.

-- During an operation outside of Mosul, coalition forces captured a suspected terrorist who reports suggest smuggles foreign terrorists and weapons into Iraq. Two additional suspects were detained for further questioning.

-- In Yusifiyah, southwest of Baghdad, coalition forces targeted and captured a suspected terrorist believed to be associated with car-bomb terrorists. Four additional suspects were detained during the operation.

-- Forces captured two suspected al-Qaida operatives in Baghdad who reportedly are involved in the city's suicide-bomber operations. Three more suspects were detained for further questioning.

In operations Nov. 7:

-- Iraqi police on a joint mission with the 25th Infantry Division's 411th Military police Company, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, discovered a cache north of Baghdad. The items included 1,280 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, two AK-47s, a .22-caliber pistol and a pair of binoculars.

-- A tip from a concerned citizen led to the seizure of a 120 mm mortar round and an oxygen tank by Iraqi police north of Baghdad.

-- A local citizen turned in seven fragmentary hand grenades he found in an open field to Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers at Joint Security Station Ameriyah in Baghdad's Mansour district.

-- Coalition forces operating near Tikrit, north of Baghdad, targeted terrorist networks in the Tigris River Valley. One man believed to be associated with a local terrorist leader was detained for additional questioning.

-- In Kirkuk, coalition forces captured a wanted man believed to have ties with al-Qaida leaders in the region. Four additional suspects were detained during the operation.

-- South of Mosul in the village of Beiji, forces detained three men believed to have connections to a suspected terrorist associated with the city's roadside-bomb networks.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained a known leader ofIranian-backed enemy fighters in southern Baghdad's Rashid district. Soldiers from Company B, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained the man while conducting a combat patrol in the Risalah community. The patrol returned to the combat outpost with the detainee to conduct additional questioning.

In operations Nov. 6:

-- In Mosul, Iraqi soldiers captured a suspected roadside-bomb cell leader and three more individuals. The cell is allegedly responsible for manufacturing and emplacing bombs targeting civilians as well as Iraqi and coalition forces.

-- During a separate operation in Tal Uwaynat in northwest Iraq, Iraqi soldiers captured five suspected al-Qaida weapons facilitators. The cell members were believed to be supplying weapons to terrorists throughout Ninevah province.

-- In the Jedaydah Village of Diyala province, Iraq's Baqouba special weapons and tactics team captured a suspected al-Qaida cell leader and four cell members. The individuals are believed to be responsible for providing logistical support and safe housing for terrorists in the Bani Sayd area. The cell leader also is believed to be the leader of a sniper cell.

--An Iraqi army unit received information about a possible car bomb, but instead discovered a rolling cache containing 14 82 mm mortars. The Iraqi soldiers received a tip about a car bomb that had been parked in the Al Islah Al Zarai neighborhood of Mosul for a couple of days. After setting up a cordon, the unit investigated the vehicle and determined it was used to store explosives and weapons and was not a car bomb. The explosives were removed from the neighborhood without incident.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)