Coalition Kills Two Terrorists, Captures Nine in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

Nov. 25, 2008 - Coalition forces killed two terrorists and captured nine additional suspects today and yesterday during operations targeting terrorist networks in Iraq. Coalition forces killed two terrorists while striking an al-Qaida in Iraq foreign terrorist network yesterday southwest of Mosul.

When coalition forces approached a vehicle with a suspected terrorist inside, two men got out and attacked the soldiers with small-arms fire. Coalition forces returned fire, killing the men. One of the attackers was later determined to be a wanted man.

In the vehicle, coalition forces found multiple rifles, three rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 12 grenades and a suicide vest.

Today, coalition forces netted two men believed to be associated with the leader of Mosul's bombing network. Coalition forces also captured two men while targeting al-Qaida in Iraq senior leadership in Baghdad. North of Baghdad, forces captured two men believed to be associates of a senior courier in al-Qaida in Iraq's Diyala network.

Yesterday, coalition forces captured a wanted man believed to be a terrorist cell leader in Beiji, south of Mosul. North of Baghdad, forces captured two suspects believed to be associated with a car-bomb cell leader in Tikrit.

In other operations:

-- Coalition forces and Iraqi security forces arrested a man believed to be a leader in an Iranian-backed illegal militia along with two other suspects Nov. 21 in Qurna in central Iraq. The leader is suspected of having worked with Iranian intelligence for three years, helping to smuggle weapons, money and information into Iraq to facilitate enemy activities, officials said.

-- Iraqi and coalition forces captured a suspected terrorist Nov. 21 believed to have ties to the al-Qaida in Iraq and Islamic State of Iraq terrorist groups while targeting terrorist leadership in northern Iraq's Ninevah province. The man is suspected of facilitating foreign fighters, displaced insurgents and equipment through Mosul, officials said.

-- Iraqi soldiers arrested a man Nov. 21 believed to be trained to assassinate Iraqi special forces officials.

-- An Iraqi special weapons and tactics team arrested a suspected criminal Nov. 21 during a raid to disrupt criminal operations in central Iraq's Babil province. The SWAT team detained another suspect in Hayy Askari, also in central Iraq, believed to have ties to transporting weapons, kidnappings and roadside-bomb attacks against Iraqi special forces.

-- Iraqi soldiers captured a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorist Nov. 20 in northern Iraq's Farhatiya area. The man is believed to have aided foreign fighters, officials said.

-- Iraqi special operations forces captured a suspected criminal during an operation Nov. 20 in Baghdad's West Rashid district.

Other recent operations resulted in seizure of enemy weapons stockpiles:

-- Multinational Division Baghdad and Iraqi soldiers seized a weapons cache south of Baghdad yesterday consisting of artillery rounds, 57 mm rockets, boxes of 25 mm and 30 mm ammunition and other military equipment. Later, a tip led Iraqi soldiers to a cache hidden in front of an apartment building. The cache included two mortars, a fuse and an illumination round.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers confiscated a weapons cache north of Baghdad yesterday consisting of anti-aircraft guns and other military equipment. Lst night, soldiers seized a weapons cache that included machine guns, rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, RPG warheads, RPG boosters, RPG sights, half-loaded AK-47 assault rifle magazines, AK-47 ammunition, MK-19 rounds, professional-grade TNT, two improvised explosive devices and other military equipment.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers confiscated a weapons cache northwest of Baghdad yesterday consisting of a 120 mm mortar round, 60 mm mortar rounds, anti-aircraft guns and other military equipment. Later, Iraqi soldiers seized a munitions cache north of Baghdad that included high-explosive projectiles and a blasting cap.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized a weapons cache northwest of Baghdad Nov. 23 that consisted of a 127 mm missile motor and a machine gun. Later that day, soldiers seized another weapons cache consisting of 155 mm projectiles, SA-7 rocket, 60 mm mortar, 130 mm rockets, 130 mm rocket warheads, 100 mm projectiles, land mines and other military equipment.

-- An Iraqi special weapons and tactics team discovered a weapons cache in northern Iraq on Nov. 20 that included bomb-making materials.

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