Scottish, Iraqi, U.S., Troops Nab
Terror Suspects, Weapons
AFPS
American and
Iraqi troops, as well as a detachment of Scottish Guards, nabbed
scores of suspected terrorists and weaponry during a series of
actions across Iraq March 2, Multinational Force Iraq officials
reported.
Marines and
soldiers serving with the 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary
Force, detained 26 suspected insurgents and seized several weapons
caches during operations throughout Anbar province during the
last 24 hours.
Captured weaponry
included two AK-47 assault rifles, two machine guns, a rifle,
more than 500 small-arms rounds, a 60 mm mortar round, four 130
mm mortar rounds, two hand grenades and two land mines. The munitions
were later destroyed.
Insurgent
propaganda and materials to make improvised-explosive devices
also were found in the cache and destroyed.
Iraqi security
forces and multinational troops also detained six people suspected
of terrorist activity in northern Iraq March 2, and Iraqi security
force troops and multinational soldiers detained two people suspected
of terrorist activities during cordon-and-search operations in
southeastern Mosul.
Elsewhere
in Iraq, Multinational Force Iraq soldiers detained four people
suspected of terrorist activity during March 2 raids in western
Mosul.
Multinational
forces detained one suspected terrorist, killed two and injured
another during March 2 operations in northern Mosul. The individuals
engaged by multinational troops had previously conducted rocket-propelled-grenade
attacks against security forces, officials said. No MNF injuries
were reported during the operation. The detention of the suspected
terrorist resulted from a tip from an Iraqi citizen.
In southern
Iraq, a search team from 1st Battalion Scots Guards recently found
a significant arms cache hidden in a house in North Basra, military
officials reported.
The cache,
which included a mortar, a heavy machine gun, RPG warheads, mines,
grenades and thousands of rounds, was unearthed during an operation
designed to quell tribal fighting between the Halaf and Garamsha
tribes in the area.
Team leader
Lance Sgt. Derek Hood, from Blackpool, England, said the search
took more than six hours. “To find so many munitions, all
in working order, was just what we trained for,” Hood said.
“It’s a great result."
The house
where the weapons were found was one of more than 20 targeted
in a pre-dawn operation mounted by the Iraqi army, Iraqi police
and coalition forces, including the Scots Guards.
The Scots
Guards battalion usually is based in Munster, Germany, and deployed
in October 2004 to provide an armored infantry reserve for the
British-led multinational division responsible for southern Iraq.
The battalion was involved in supporting the first free and democratic
elections in Iraq in January.
(Source:
MFINR)