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News releases from Combined Joint Task Force 7 in Iraq have provided details of recent coalition successes in capturing insurgents and taking weapons out of circulation. Soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, raided three locations in Samarra just after midnight Feb. 17 and captured specifically targeted individuals suspected of attacking coalition forces. Residents near Balad asked soldiers from Company B, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, to remove weapons from their home Feb. 17. The soldiers removed and confiscated an improvised rocket tube, a rocket, three AK-47 assault rifles, one SKS automatic weapon and assorted electrical components similar to those used to make improvised explosive devices. An off-duty Iraqi police officer stopped a patrol from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, in the village of Wajihiyah and told the soldiers about an ammunition cache. The soldiers went to the location and found 30 rounds of 152 mm artillery shells. In another incident, Iraqi police brought an explosive device made of four 155 mm artillery rounds to soldiers from the 4th Military Police Battalion. The police found the device partially buried at the side of the road near the village of Jabal Makhul. Soldiers from Company A, 3rd Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, were in Bayji Feb. 17 when they saw a pick-up truck drive away at a high speed. The soldiers were not able to stop the fleeing truck, but went to the house from which they saw the truck leave. They located and confiscated two rocket-propelled grenade launchers, two AK-47s, eight Beretta submachine guns, a recoilless rifle sight and numerous containers for missiles. The house was littered with military paraphernalia. One person was detained for questioning. In Muqdadiyah, soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, conducted two raids Feb. 17 looking for individuals suspected of being involved in attacks against coalition forces. One person specifically targeted was among six people they captured. Soldiers confiscated two AK-47s, three bolt-action rifles, one SKS automatic weapon, a shotgun, an antiquated machine gun and six AK-47 ammunition magazines. Three people were seized Feb. 17 after a coalition helicopter crew saw them attack an Iraqi Civil Defense Corps headquarters near Balad with automatic weapons and flee to a nearby building. Soldiers also confiscated an AK-47, an SKS automatic weapon and a .45-caliber pistol. Task Force 1st Armored Division soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team captured eight men suspected of participating in the Baath Party during a raid in the Karradah district at about 2 a.m. Feb. 15. Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, detained eight men suspected of being active in the outlawed party. Weapons seized during the operation include nine AK-47s, one rocket, a pistol, two rifles, two RPG rounds, 23 rounds of 125 mm artillery and assorted small- arms ammunition |
