Multinational Forces Round Up Insurgents, Caches
AFPS
Multinational
Force Iraq reports continued, robust activities to capture suspected
insurgents and uncover caches of illegal weapons.
In raids near
Duluiyah early Friday, soldiers of the 4th Cavalry Regiment participating
in Operation Powder River rounded up 25 suspected insurgents,
including a man believed to be behind improvised explosive device
attacks in the area. The soldiers confiscated five AK-47 assault
rifles, 400 to 500 rounds of ammunition, two spools of wire, and
bomb-making materials that included 15 100-pound bags of ammonium
nitrate, diesel fuel and soap found in his home.
Iraqi soldiers
confiscated weapons, ammunition and bomb-making equipment in a
northeastern Mosul cordon-and-search operation Jan. 13. The soldiers
found 24 RPG warheads, RPG launchers, 18 sticks of dynamite, 10
mortar rounds, 120 mortar fuses, 200 blasting caps, detonation
cord, hand grenades and other bomb- making equipment, and detained
two people.
During joint
intelligence-driven operations conducted with Iraqi security forces
on Jan. 13, 1st Infantry Division soldiers found caches of weapons
near Bayji and Baqubah. Near Bayji, soldiers found 81 mortar rounds,
two rifle grenades, three PG-7 rockets, two OG-9 rockets, 35 artillery
rounds, bags of propellant, three RPG launchers, two machine guns
and nearly 1,000 rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition. The cache near
Baqubah included 282 40 mm anti-aircraft rounds, 22 cases of 21
mm armor-piercing rounds, 67 AK-47s and 24 82 mm mortar rounds.
Task Force
Danger soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division,
raided a home Jan. 13 looking for a man wanted for assassination
attempts on Iraqi security forces. The suspect was not home. Later,
however, Iraqi police arrested him when he tried to file a complaint
about the raid.
In a joint
raid near Kirkuk Jan. 13, Task Force Danger soldiers and Iraqi
police detained three men and seized a rifle, three AK-47s, eight
30-round magazines, two magazine pouches and insurgent propaganda.
A 1st Infantry
Division patrol that had come under small-arms attack detained
five people, including two of their attackers, during a search
of six homes near Baqubah on Jan. 13. A third attacker is believed
to have escaped through a nearby mosque. Iraqi police searched
the mosque with no success, but did confiscate an RPG launcher
and round.
Three suspected
insurgents were detained near the site of an improvised explosive
device attack on a 1st Infantry Division patrol near Muqdadiyah
late Jan. 13. The three tested positive for explosives residue
and were turned over to Iraqi police.
Iraqi citizens
in Fallujah led a U.S. Marine patrol to weapons in the southern
part of the city Jan. 12. A citizen reported he had found a machine
gun next to his house.
As the Marines
retrieved the weapon, another resident approached them and reported
a cache near his home. The second man led the Marines to a buried
cache that consisted of four RPG rounds and two launchers, two
57 mm rockets, a machine gun, a mortar tube, two gas masks and
numerous magazines of ammunition. The weapons and munitions were
collected for future demolition.
During a five-hour
series of Jan. 12 raids in central Baghdad, Task Force Baghdad
soldiers found four weapons caches and detained four suspected
insurgents. The weapons and munitions included a bag of .50-caliber
ammunition, seven AK-47s, 35 82 mm mortar rounds, a mortar plate,
five fuses, a 60 mm mortar round, three hand grenades and 2.3
kilograms of synthetic explosive.
At a northern
Baghdad checkpoint Jan. 12, Task Force Baghdad soldiers found
two rifles, ammunition, explosives and a large amount of U.S.
money in a vehicle. The driver tried to speed away, but hit another
vehicle, flipped over and was detained by the soldiers.
Thirty-one
suspected insurgents were detained in a joint operation near Kirkuk
on Jan. 12. The operation, which was conducted in Bajawan, was
designed to kill or capture 17 known insurgents. All 17 were captured
along with 14 other suspects. Soldiers seized three cell phones,
three compact disks, $2,500 in U.S. currency, three AK-47s, a
bolt-action rifle, a 9 mm pistol and 18 vials of atropine. Four
caches also were discovered in the operation. They included detonation
cord, two 60 mm mortar systems, six 60 mm rockets, an RPG launcher
and eight RPG rounds.
While patrolling
the city Jan. 11, Iraqi police reported to their Joint Coordination
Center that a suspicious vehicle was parked near the Tikrit provincial
police station. As the police were preparing to investigate, a
concealed improvised explosive device detonated. Officials believe
the bomb detonated prematurely, missing its intended target due
to the aggressive patrolling of the Iraqi policemen. Four Iraqi
police officers were injured.
(Compiled
from MFINR)