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| A local resident insists troops missed some weapons during an initial search; a subsequent search yields weapons buried beneath rocks and soil. |
| By U.S. Army Pfc. James Wilt 82nd Airborne Division |
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| TALL AFAR, Iraq, Oct. 19, 2005 — U.S. Army paratroopers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and Company B, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, uncovered a cache of weapons during a raid on a house here, Oct. 18. The combined unit unearthed seven assault rifles, one medium machine gun, six hand grenades, three anti-aircraft rounds modified for use as hand grenades, seven ammunition vests, over 2,500 rounds of ammunition, 30 magazines and materials thought to be used to make improvised explosive devices.
Working off of a tip from a local resident, the paratroopers searched the house Oct. 17 in an effort to uncover any weapons there. Three assault rifles and two ammunition vests were found during the initial search, said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason R. Gillis, an infantryman with Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment. The informant who gave the unit the tip approached the paratroopers a second time to tell them that he believed there were still more weapons inside the house, Gillis, a native of Goldsboro, N.C., said. Again following the lead from the informant, the troopers returned to the house Oct. 18 armed with a metal detector and digging tools. Once in the target room, the unit's metal detector didn't find anything beneath the stone lined floor, said U.S. Army Spc. Christopher L. Sharp, a combat engineer, with Company B, 307th Engineer Battalion.
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Undeterred, Sharp and U.S. Army Pfc. Valentino R. Cuellar, also a combat engineer, began moving rocks to search for any recently moved soil, Sharp, a Dallas native, said. Picking up a rock by the doorway, Sharp said he noticed the dirt was not packed down like the rest of the floor. After removing more rocks, Sharpe found a barrel buried in the dirt. Inside of the barrel was the largest cache Company B has found in their sector, Sharp said. The paratroopers removed the weapons and filled in the hole were the cache was buried. Moving on to search the rest of the house and surrounding area, the soldiers found electronic devices believed to be used for making improvised explosive devices. No detainees were taken as the house was unoccupied. The raid was part of the 82nd Airborne Division's efforts to make the streets here safer for the Iraqi people. "Look at all the stuff that we found, how many lives we probably saved," said Cuellar, a native of Los Angeles. The paratroopers will remain in the city for an undetermined amount of time and will continue to conduct operations here in an attempt to maintain stability in the region. |
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