U.S., Iraqi Forces Seize Weapons Caches, Detain Suspects

American Forces Press Service

Nov. 2, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces seized weapons caches throughout and captured suspected terrorists in Baghdad during operations over the past several days. Yesterday, U.S. soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division's Company C, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, joined Iraqi soldiers in seizing a cache north of Baghdad. The cache included 90 mm projectiles, 122 mm projectiles, a 120 mm mortar, powdered aluminum, explosives, sulfur, washing machine timers, batteries, radios, red detonation cord, and an assortment of insulated wires.

Less than an hour later, a tip from a concerned Iraqi citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division's 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, along with Iraqi Army troops, to a house in Kadhamiyah. In the house's courtyard the soldiers found an AK-47 rifle with full magazines, loose 7.62 mm rounds, binoculars, an Iraqi Army flak vest, a rocket-propelled grenade booster, grenades with fuses, and radios with chargers.

In other operations in Iraq yesterday:

-- A combined patrol Iraqi Army soldiers and members of the Iraqi national police detained three suspected criminals in Baghdad's Saydiyah community.

-- Members of the Iraqi national police discovered a munitions cache in an abandoned house in Baghdad's Risalah community. They found a 57 mm warhead, mortar fuses, a rocket fuse, blocks of plastic explosives and grenade fuses. An explosive ordnance disposal unit responded to properly dispose of the ammunition.

In operations in Iraq on Oct. 31:

-- On the evening of Oct. 31, Iraqi National police found a cache in the Riassa area of eastern Baghdad. The police officers seized one-pound sticks of high explosives, hand grenades with fuses, flares, rounds of small-arms ammunition, an AK-47 drum magazine and a magazine for 5.56 mm ammunition.

-- National policemen informed U.S. Army soldiers assigned to the 10th Mountain Division's 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, that they had seized 60 mm mortars near Forward Operating Base Rustamiyah.

-- A tip from a concerned citizen led U.S. soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, to a cache in Baghdad's New Baghdad district. The cache included 60 mm rounds.

-- U.S. Soldiers serving with the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, found 60 mm mortar rounds in the West Rashid district of Baghdad while searching abandoned houses.

-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen guided Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district. The cache included mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenade rounds, grenades and RPG propellant rods.

-- A tip from an Iraqi citizen led Iraqi Army soldiers to a weapons cache in Kadhamiyah. The munitions, found in a trash pile, included a 30 mm high explosive round, 120 mm mortar round and a 10 array three-quarter-inch explosively formed penetrator.

-- Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Company A, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, detained a suspect while on patrol in the Aamel community of Baghdad's Rashid district. They transported the detainee, who is suspected of planting roadside bombs, to a nearby combat outpost for processing.

-- Soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division's Troop C, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, detained two suspected criminals in Baghdad's Abu T'shir neighborhood. The suspects are believed to be responsible for homemade bomb attacks against Iraqi security force and local citizens.

(From Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)