Coalition, Iraqis Capture 13 in Terrorist Network Busts

American Forces Press Service

Dec. 2, 2008 - Coalition and Iraqi forces have captured 13 people in three days of operations targeting terrorist networks in Iraq, military officials reported. Al-Qaida in Iraq leadership cells in Baghdad were the target of two operations today. The first operation, in the city's Rashid neighborhood, netted a wanted man believed to be associated with regional terrorist leaders. Later today, in the Mansour neighborhood, troops captured another suspected terrorist and an additional suspect. The targeted man is believed to be a terrorist leader in the city. Reports suggest he is responsible for multiple grenade attacks in Baghdad.

In separate operations yesterday targeting al-Qaida in Iraq's leadership networks in northern Iraq, coalition troops detained two suspects in Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, and three in Sharqat, about 60 miles south of Mosul. One of the suspects was wanted for his alleged connections to multiple al-Qaida in Iraq leaders.

In other operations in Iraq:

-- Coalition troops captured four people in Baghdad yesterday suspected of being part of Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed terrorist network. One suspect was apprehended at a residence in the Adhamiyah district; the other three were at a house just south of Sadr City. That brings to 33 the number of suspected Iranian-sponsored terrorists captured by the coalition in the past month, officials said.

-- The coalition captured a man in Tikrit yesterday who is suspected of being involved in car bombings and of providing weapons to insurgents in the city. The man surrendered to ground forces.

-- The coalition captured three al-Qaida in Iraq terrorism suspects Nov. 30. One man was apprehended in Abu Ghraib, about 16 miles west of Baghdad; the other two were detained in Mosul.

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