Feb. 6, 2006 – Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained 10 suspects and discovered weapons during several operations in and around Baghdad on Feb. 4, military officials in Iraq reported today.
Iraqi soldiers participated in one operation that resulted in the discovery of a bomb-making cell.
Elements of the 4th Infantry Division, conducted a cordon-and-search operation to locate a suspect who has been linked to crimes against coalition forces. The suspect was detained south of Baghdad.
In another operation, soliders of the 4th Infantry Division, detained two suspects whom a local Iraqi citizen helping coalition forces identify possible roadside bomb emplacements had pointed out. The detainees are suspected of masterminding a roadside-bomb attack on coalition forces Feb. 2.
While conducting a route-clearance operation southwest of Baghdad, elements of the 101st Infantry Division, found a vehicle containing rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, roadside bomb-making materials and a cell phone. The patrol also found 50-pound bags of ammonium nitrate, a chemical compound used in making roadside bombs, in a house near the vehicle.
An explosive ordnance disposal team was called to the scene and performed a controlled detonation to eliminate the threats.
In another incident, elements of the 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, found roadside bombs northwest of Baghdad.
A primary device, consisting of a 130 mm round with red detonation cord, was found. A secondary device, consisting of 152 mm artillery rounds, was found 50 feet in front of the primary device.
EOD performed a controlled detonation on three of the rounds and recovered the other round. Responding to a tip from and Iraqi citizen, soldiers from 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division, and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers found a bomb-making cell north of Baghdad.
The Iraqi unit, supported by the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a search of a house and found rifles, a pistol and bomb-making materials including circuit boards, spools of copper and aluminum wire, soldering irons and triggering devices. Soldiers also detained seven suspected terrorists.
Feb. 5, 2006 – Iraqi forces discovered a roadside bomb and caught the would-be bomber of a bridge in two separate incidents in Tikrit, Iraq, yesterday, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq officials said.
Iraqi police officers reported an improvised explosive device discovered along a Tikrit business route to coalition personnel. Bomb disposal personnel cleared the two surface=laid artillery shells, which had been concealed with a timing device in a plastic bag.
The same day, Iraqi soldiers identified and detained a would-be bomber and defused an explosive device after some quick coordination with coalition personnel.
Iraqi troops became suspicious of a man with a cell phone near a bridge on the east side of town. The soldiers also suspected a bomb was emplaced and contacted coalition troops with the information.
An Iraqi army quick-reaction force was dispatched, and the suspect was arrested. The bomb was discovered on the side of the bridge and disarmed. The detainee and roadside bomb were turned over to authorities for further disposition.
Feb. 4, 2006 – A combined U.S. and Iraqi patrol killed four insurgents yesterday, and in separate incidents Feb. 2, a U.S. team seized a weapons cache west of Fallujah and Multinational Division Baghdad forces detained three suspected terrorists, Multinational Force Iraq officials reported today.
The insurgents were killed after they opened fire on U.S. Marines and Iraqi soldiers patrolling along the Euphrates River south of Hit. The combined patrol was conducting a cache sweep when the insurgents attacked with small-arms fire, officials said. U.S. and Iraq troops returned fire, killing four insurgents and detaining three others for questioning. One of the insurgents killed was wearing a suicide vest.
During a Feb. 2 combat patrol west of Fallujah, soldiers with the Illinois National Guard secured a weapons cache. The cache included mortar systems, rounds and fuses, rockets, explosives, hand grenades, land mines, artillery primers, illumination rounds, rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, anti-aircraft rounds, and machine guns. This cache was the eleventh these servicemembers, who make up Task Force Blackhawk, have discovered in a 13-day period, officials said.
That same day, another unit, detained a suspected terrorist south of Baghdad. Acting on a tip from a local citizen, a patrol searched the suspect's house and found a mortar sight and possible bomb-making materials.
In a separate incident, 4th Infantry Division Soldiers detained two suspects in connection with the detonation of two roadside bombs southeast of Baghdad. The suspects had spotting scopes and bomb-initiating timers in their possession.
