Coalition
Forces Detain Suspects in
Iraq’s Hamrin Mountains
(AFPS)
Coalition forces detained eight suspected terrorists yesterday
and
today as they continued to run down the al-Qaida in
Iraq network, especially in the Hamrin Mountains region, where they detained
four wanted men, military officials reported.
One of the
wanted men, captured yesterday near Qara Tappa with one alleged
associate, is believed to be a senior
advisor for al-Qaida in Iraq operations
around the Hamrin Mountains. Three other wanted men in the region were captured
in an operation today, along with one additional suspect.
One of the
wanted men allegedly operates an attack cell that also provides
security for terrorist operations, officials said. Two others
reportedly are involved in smuggling, attacks on coalition
forces and facilitating female suicide bombers.
South of
Baghdad near Mahmudiyah, a man already in coalition custody
turned in an alleged associate of a senior al-Qaida in Iraq
leader. The alleged associate and one other suspected
terrorist were detained in the operation.
Coalition
forces killed an enemy fighter in Tikrit during a daytime operation
yesterday targeting associates of al-Qaida leaders in central
Iraq.
Coalition
forces targeted a facilitator involved with providing bomb
triggers for several attack cells in the Tigris River Valley
bombing network. As they attempted to apprehend the wanted
man, he rushed toward the security element and grabbed one
soldier’s rifle. Responding to the hostile threat, coalition
forces engaged and killed the man.
Iraqi
soldiers also seized numerous weapons during a search operation
in the Mansour district of Baghdad. The munitions included
100 AK 47 assault rifles, four Seminov rifles, an SKS rifle
and four pistols. Later, Iraqi National Police seized three
rocket-propelled grenade warheads, five 107 mm rockets and
two 122 mm mortar rounds in the New Baghdad area.
In addition,
a local resident brought six mortar rounds to an entry control
point
north of Baghdad. Soldiers serving with the 25th Infantry Division’s
Company C, 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker
Brigade Combat Team, called in an explosive ordnance disposal
team to assess the munitions. The EOD team identified the munitions
as 120 mm high-explosive mortar rounds.
Finally,
a quick-reaction force soldiers with Headquarters and Headquarters
Company,
153rd Infantry Battalion, found a weapons cache in Baghdad’s
West Rashid district. The cache consisted of 24 124 mm rounds
without fuses. An EOD team conducted a controlled detonation
and destroyed the munitions.