U.S. army digs up arms "candy shop"

REUTERS ^ | 11 December 2003 | By Robin Pomeroy

[11th_VA]

TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces have arrested three men suspected of heading Iraqi rebel cells in their homes and say they seized a cache of weapons big enough to launch 50 guerrilla attacks.

In the front garden of one of the two houses raided in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit in the early hours of Thursday, soldiers dug up a hoard of rifles, grenades and explosives that the commanding officer described as "a Fedayeen candy shop".

"This is mission-oriented. This is stuff they dole out," said Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell of the U.S. Fourth Infantry Division.

"They are not moving weapons here -- this is the head of a snake," he told reporters invited to witness the raid.

"They are probably in charge of two or three cells. This is one of the most unusual varieties of weapons caches we have seen."

U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq have been dogged by attacks, often in the form of improvised bombs against military convoys. They are believed launched by rebels loyal to former President Saddam Hussein, some of whom have been identified as remnants of Saddam's feared Fedayeen militia.

Russell said the three men arrested, two brothers and a brother-in-law all aged about 40, were members of Mohammed's Army, a group he described as a "local terrorist cell" based in what is the main city in Saddam's home region.

"They are connected to the former regime."

The men, woken from their sleep next to their wives and children, pleaded their innocence. But as reporters left the site, soldiers were still finding white plastic sacks stuffed with weapons buried a few inches under the soil.

"You have a smoking gun in your hand," Russell told one of the arrested men who, according to a U.S. army interpreter, had protested: "I just sell wood, I sell shoes. Saddam is my enemy."

As the two men of that house were undergoing initial interrogation outside, their wives and bleary-eyed young children waited in their bedrooms.

Reuters witnessed as a young boy, prompted by an insistent Arabic-speaking soldier, lifted the corner of his mother's mattress to reveal an AK-47 assault rifle.

Troops also discovered an apparently newly-bought wireless doorbell set, which can be used to trigger bombs from a distance.

Russell said the weapons find was significant as U.S. troops rarely discover the "middle-men" who are neither fully-blown arms traffickers nor the foot soldiers who pull the trigger, but are in charge of directing attacks.

He said better intelligence and tip-offs were leading to more effective raids on Iraqi rebels than in recent months.

"We are draining the swamp of the high and the low," he said. "It is starting to get pretty good. It is starting to get as good as it was in July and August.

As the bulk of troops left the house, two U.S. helicopters fired salvos of explosives into a nearby farmer's field, a show of force the U.S. military calls "harassment and interdiction" of local militants.

[11th_VA]

All your doorbells belong to us !!!!

[11th_VA]

FYI

[Mo1]

It's crack down time

Please Lord, keep all the Troops safe

[VOA]

more-good-news ping!

[GeronL]

Should have taken out the entire house afterwards, or first... makes no difference to me.

[Indie]

"I just sell wood, I sell shoes. Saddam is my enemy."

Ok so fuhgettaboutit...heh heh...BAM!!

[Calpernia]

For the ping list.

[Jodi]

As the bulk of troops left the house, two U.S. helicopters fired salvos of explosives into a nearby farmer's field, a show of force the U.S. military calls "harassment and interdiction" of local militants.

so cool, it had to be repeated.

[NormsRevenge]

Ding Dong! Avon Calling!!!

Nice work, Soldiers in the War on Terrorism.

[VOA]

As the bulk of troops left the house, two U.S. helicopters fired salvos of explosives into a nearby
farmer's field, a show of force the U.S. military calls "harassment and interdiction" of local militants.

Once again, for effect.
Hey, when you're busying getting rid of your share of 100 TONS A DAY of confiscated
weaponry, you need a big stick to bust them into pieces.

[pissant]

As much as I despise reuters, they seem to be one of very few organizations that report this stuff. Of course, they overcompensate for any good news with their lame "eyewitness accounts" of the brutal yankees by local saddamites.

[ConservativeMan55]

BTTT!!!

[elli1]

Nice work.

[Bombard]

This is a clear sign that the locals are talking to our troops and telling them who and where the bad guys are. The war is being won folks,one step and one raid at a time.

[11th_VA]

This is a clear sign that the locals are talking to our troops and telling them who and where the bad guys are.

Yep, draining the swamp, got 40+ more today to get intel from as well ...

[FreedomPoster]

Time for some summary judgements on guys like this. Leave them lying in the front yard as a lesson.

[Liberty Valance]

Dangit, i must have missed this story on ABCCBSNBCCNN or maybe they just missed it /sarcasm/

Go Army! We are proud of you and thank you for all your hard work!

[Blood of Tyrants]

Ask not for whom the door bell tolls...

[Billthedrill]

Reuters witnessed as a young boy, prompted by an insistent Arabic-speaking soldier, lifted the corner of his mother's mattress to reveal an AK-47 assault rifle.

"Oopsie! So that's where that old thing got to..."

[B-Cause]

Ding Dong! Avon Calling!!!

Nice work, Soldiers in the War on Terrorism.

---

Wonderful response Norm. Click Here for a thread with more good news.