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WASHINGTON, May 22, 2009 – Coalition and Iraqi forces detained one suspect and seized a weapons cache during operations in Iraq this week. Iraqi and coalition forces detained a suspected criminal on a warrant in northwestern Baghdad's Kadhamiyah district on May 20. The suspect was wanted for allegedly promoting sectarian violence in the Hurriyah neighborhood, military officials said. Troops took the suspect to a secure location for further questioning. During a May 19 operation, combined forces discovered a large cache in the Aqur Quf area west of the Iraq capital. The stockpile contained rockets, mortars and other military equipment. An...

WASHINGTON, May 15, 2009 – U.S. Marines and Iraqi police uncovered several weapons caches near Karmah, Iraq, May 12 and 13. Five cache sites yielded more than 280 mortar rounds, 11 artillery rounds, 15 machine guns, two rifles and a grenade launcher. In other Iraq news, coalition and Iraqi security forces arrested three suspects in operations in northwest Baghdad May 11 and 12. Two were arrested in Kadamiyah on May 11 and charged with conducting bombing attacks on coalition forces and refugees in Kadamiyah. Another wanted suspect was arrested in the Mansour district May 12. (Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq...

TIKRIT — Iraq’s Tikrit Emergency Response Battalion (ERB) recently planned, led and facilitated an operation leading to the arrest of three suspected key members of a Bayji-based insurgent cell. According to Iraqi intelligence, the cell (comprised of members of the former Iraqi Army) led kidnapping raids and coordinated attacks against Iraqi and Coalition forces. With Tikrit Major Crimes Court-issued warrants, ERB members entered the residences and detained each of the cell members. “The capture of these individuals should disrupt insurgent operations in Salah al Din, and validates the ability of the Tikrit ERB to gather intelligence and conduct unilateral operations,”...

Source: U.S. journalists in Pyongyang Seoul tells Washington the detainees could be facing charges of espionage March 24, 2009 A sign warning against illegal border crossing was set up near the Tumen River where two female American reporters were reportedly arrested by North Korean soldiers on March 17. [YONHAP] South Korea has collected intelligence on how two American journalists were recently captured in North Korea and has briefed United States intelligence officials on the details, the JoongAng Ilbo has learned. A South Korean source said that after the capture, U.S. intelligence officials asked South Korea for cooperation in gathering facts...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 10, 2009 – Iraqi and U.S. soldiers detained 12 suspected criminals during operations in Baghdad on Feb. 7 and 8, military officials reported. Iraqi and U.S. soldiers arrested a man Feb. 8 suspected of firing rockets against coalition forces. The forces turned the suspect over to Iraqi control. Later that day, combined forces using Iraqi warrants detained nine suspected criminals in Baghdad’s Furat neighborhood. The suspects are believed to be tied to terrorist activity, including attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces. Iraqi soldiers turned the suspects over to a joint security station for processing. In southern Baghdad’s Rashid...

WASHINGTON — He is the man who tracked down the Ace of Spades: Saddam Hussein, the top card in the U.S. military's deck of cards, found crouching like a mole in a darkened spider hole under a trap door at the back of a farm in Tikrit. For the first time since the Army's 4th Infantry Division captured Saddam in a dramatic raid on Dec. 13, 2003, the U.S. intelligence officer who hunted him down has come forward with his story.

LOI SAM, Pakistan – Pakistan's army captured a key militant stronghold near the Afghan border, a breakthrough in a bloody push against the Taliban and al-Qaida that has claimed 95 civilian lives, the military said Saturday. Army spokesman Maj. Gen. Athar Abbas said troops on Saturday captured Loi Sam, a town in the Bajur region sitting on a vital intersection connecting the border to three neighboring Pakistani regions. "Now we have complete control in this area from where miscreants used to go to Afghanistan," Abbas told reporters flown into Bajur on a military helicopter Saturday. "Miscreants have been expelled or...

BALAD, Iraq – Iraqi Security Forces captured eight suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists during separate operations throughout northern Iraq Oct. 21-22.      On Oct. 22 in Tikrit, Salah ad Din Special Weapons and Tactics captured a suspected AQI cell leader. The cell leader is believed to be responsible for emplacing improvised explosive devices, torturing innocent civilians to death, and providing early warning to insurgents regarding Coalition and Iraqi forces operations.       In an operation in western Mosul Oct. 21, Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured four suspected AQI cell members operating in the Hay Al Tinek neighborhood. The cell members are believed...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2008 – Coalition forces continued to drive al-Qaida in Iraq out of the country yesterday and today, targeting terrorists during operations in Mosul and Baghdad, military officials reported. During two related operations in Mosul ending yesterday, a wanted man and an additional suspect were detained by coalition forces. The wanted man is believed to have associated with a terrorist killed Oct. 5, officials said. The other detained man allegedly has ties to senior al-Qaida leaders. Two more suspected terrorists were detained by coalition forces today during an operation targeting regional al-Qaida leadership in Mosul. Multinational Division Baghdad...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq captured seven terrorism suspects, including two wanted men, in operations today, military officials reported. Coalition forces, acting on tips from individuals already in custody, captured a wanted man and two additional suspects in Mosul. The wanted man is believed to be developing technology to impede coalition forces' ability to detect car bombs and other improvised explosive devices, officials said. Intelligence reports also suggest that the man is using his business as a cover for al-Qaida money-laundering activities. In Baghdad, coalition forces captured another wanted man believed to provide a hideout for...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 22, 2008 – Coalition forces targeting al-Qaida in Iraq courier networks captured one wanted man and three additional suspects today, further degrading the terrorist organization's ability to communicate, military officials reported. Forces operating near Tarmiyah, about 20 miles north of Baghdad, captured a suspected terrorist who admitted to being a letter courier for a long-time al-Qaida operator. He also is believed to have connections with multiple al-Qaida operatives throughout the area. During the operation, coalition forces seized multiple weapons, including a Russian-made submachine gun. In Sharqat, about 55 miles south of Mosul, coalition forces detained three suspects during...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 – 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...

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces detained 14 suspected terrorists and found weapon caches during recent operations in Iraq, military officials said. Today in northern Iraq, coalition and Iraqi forces captured seven suspected terrorists, including an alleged al-Qaida kidnapping cell leader, officials said. U.S. and Iraqi troops detained the alleged cell leader and another suspect in Kirkuk after receiving tips from previously captured associates of the suspects. The alleged cell leader reportedly is tied to kidnappings and terrorist activities in Kirkuk and Salahuddin provinces, officials said. Coalition forces captured five other suspected terrorists during an operation near...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces detained four suspects and seized caches of weapons in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said. Coalition forces captured two suspected members of Iranian-backed “special groups” today during operations in Baghdad’s Shula district, military officials said. One of the suspects is a senior member of a Baghdad-based cell who received weapons and intelligence training in Iran and acts as an agent of the Islamic Republic, according to an associate detained in a prior operation. During two-day operations that culminated yesterday, Iraqi National Police and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained...

WASHINGTON, June 29, 2008 – Iraq’s Baqubah Emergency Response Force detained a suspected al-Qaida member in Udaim, north of Baghdad, today. The response force conducted the operation to disrupt al-Qaida’s movement and decrease the terrorist organization’s intimidation attacks on the local Iraqis in the Udaim River Valley area, officials said. The detained man is believed to be part of a mortar and rocket cell that targets Iraqi security and coalition forces and local citizens, officials said. During the operation, ground intelligence indicated that two buildings were rigged with homemade bombs and posed a threat to ground forces. The emergency response...

WASHINGTON, June 11, 2008 – Coalition forces in Iraq today captured a man believed to be the leader of an Iranian-backed enemy “special group” and another who's an alleged al-Qaida chieftain during separate operations conducted near Kut and in Mosul, respectively, military officials said. Coalition forces captured the suspected Iranian-trained explosives expert in Numaniyah, southeast of Baghdad near Kut. Intelligence sources told coalition officials the suspect has numerous Iranian contacts with whom he would meet when smuggling weapons and bomb-making materials into Iraq. Coalition forces entered the suspect’s residence and subdued him without firing any shots after the man made...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi Special Operations Forces detained four suspected terrorists, for attacks against Iraqi Security and Coalition forces, during separate operations in Baghdad and Mosul May 14. In Baghdad, ISOF detained two individuals including a cell leader for Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The men are suspected of conducting indirect fire attacks against Victory Base Complex and improvised explosive device attacks against Baghdad International Airport and Sons of Iraq. In Mosul, ISOF conducted operations that led to the detaining of two suspected IED cell members who are reportedly responsible for IED attacks against the...

BAGHDAD – Iraqi and Coalition forces continued their joint efforts targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq elements in Mosul, detaining three wanted men during precision operations Saturday. Two of the wanted men are believed to have conspired to conduct bombing attacks on Iraqi and Coalition forces. The other wanted man allegedly worked as a weapons facilitator for senior AQI leaders in Mosul. “Iraqi and Coalition forces continue to pursue terrorist elements in Mosul, ensuring there are no safe havens for AQI,” said Maj. John Hall, MNF-I spokesman.

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2008 – Coalition forces killed a terrorist, detained suspects, and discovered homemade explosives during a series of operations today and yesterday. In a synchronized effort triggered by intelligence from an April 12 operation, coalition forces descended on targets in Salahuddin province to disrupt al-Qaida foreign terrorist leaders. The coordinated operations seized 21 individuals with alleged ties to the al-Qaida foreign terrorist network. As an operation in Sharqat began, one man rushed coalition forces, who responded to the hostile threat, killing the attacker. Coalition forces also found weapons inside the building and uncovered homemade explosives, which were safely...

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2008 – Coalition forces detained 13 suspected terrorists during operations yesterday and today targeting al-Qaida in Iraq networks in the Tigris River Valley and northwestern Iraq. -- Coalition forces captured two suspected terrorists yesterday during an operation west of Samarra, including an alleged close associate of a regional al-Qaida in Iraq leader. Intelligence gathered yesterday also led the ground force to another target this morning, where they detained two more suspected associates of the al-Qaida leader. -- Using information from recently detained suspects, coalition forces conducted a precision operation southwest of Taji today and apprehended a suspected...