Note: The following text is an exact quote:
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051182.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
November 17, 2005
Release Number: 05-11-82
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SEARCH NETS TERRORIST SUSPECTS
TIKRIT, Iraq – A cordon and search mission in ad Dawr to deny a safe haven for terrorists in the area resulted in the detention of 20 suspected terrorists and the confiscation of weapons and materials used in the production of improvised explosive devices.
Operation Kennesaw Dragon, a joint Iraqi and U.S. mission, began November 14, as troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division set up a cordon around the city. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, supported by the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, conducted an air assault into landing zones outside the town and moved in for the search.
Task Force 1-15 and Iraqi Army Soldiers went door to door looking for weapons and known terrorists, as well as explaining to the residents that the search was related to recent attacks by terrorists. More than 30 attacks against Coalition Forces have been reported in the area during the past two months.
Many residents willingly turned over weapons to help facilitate the search. An overnight curfew in the city was met with little resistance. Shops and businesses voluntarily closed, which helped accelerate the operation.
By November 15, the mission was completed and the units returned to Forward Operating Base Wilson.
For more information, please contact the 101st AIRBORNE DIVISION Public Affairs Office at EDWARD.LOOMIS@US.ARMY.MIL.
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Nov2005/20051117_3368.html
Iraqi, Coalition Forces Catch Suspects With Munitions
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 17, 2005 – Iraqi and coalition forces working a joint operation detained three suspected insurgents with a number of munitions Nov. 16, military officials reported.
The men had a 60 mm mortar tube, two 81 mm mortar rounds, a 115 mm round and a fire extinguisher packed with explosives. The men are being detained pending further questioning.
Elsewhere in Iraq, Iraqi soldiers detained two men Nov. 16 during a search for suspects in a roadside bomb attack that knocked over a power line tower about 10 kilometers south of Samarra.
Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, reported seeing a suspicious vehicle fleeing the scene of the blast, but lost contact with it. A patrol conducting a search of nearby homes detained two men for more questioning.
A cordon-and-search mission in Dawr to deny a safe haven for terrorists in the area resulted in the detention of 20 suspected terrorists and the confiscation of weapons and materials used in the production of improvised explosive devices.
Operation Kennesaw Dragon, a joint Iraqi and U.S. mission, began Nov. 14, as troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, set up a cordon around Dawr. Soldiers from the 3rd Infantry Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, supported by the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, conducted an air assault into landing zones outside the town and moved in for the search.
Task Force 1-15 and Iraqi soldiers went door to door looking for weapons and known terrorists, as well as explaining to the residents that the search was related to recent attacks by terrorists. More than 30 attacks against coalition forces have been reported in the area during the past two months, officials said.
Many residents willingly turned over weapons to help facilitate the search. An overnight curfew in the city was met with little resistance. Shops and businesses voluntarily closed, which officials said helped accelerate the operation. By Nov. 15, the mission was completed and the units returned to Forward Operating Base Wilson. In another operation, Iraqi and U.S. forces detained dozens of terror suspects during searches in south Baghdad to clear neighborhoods of terrorist activity.
"Operation Clean Sweep was intended to clean out an area that was known to be used as a way for terrorists to come towards Baghdad from the south, as well as an area that a lot of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and IEDs were coming from," said Lt. Col. Everett Knapp, commander of 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment.
In anticipation of the Dec. 15 nationwide elections, the battalion's soldiers, as well as Iraqi forces from the 4th Public Order Brigade and 1st Commando Brigade, raided about 350 homes and detained 49 suspected terrorists. Military officials said 10 of the suspects were forwarded to detention facilities.
Some of the unit's soldiers set up the outer cordon of the mission, while others shadowed their Iraqi counterparts during the operation.
"The Iraqi soldiers really took the lead (on this mission)," Knapp said. "They don't need translators; they can tell who the good guys are and who doesn't belong in a certain situation."
During the Oct. 15 constitutional referendum vote, clearing the area of possible dangers to the democratic process was one reason U.S. soldiers swept through the fields, clearing every building that stood in their path.
Knapp said he looks forward to more work with Iraqi security forces. "These guys get better every single day," he said. "Their professionalism is outstanding." Alert neighborhood watch members in eastern Baghdad stopped a potential car bomb attack Nov. 15. Shortly before 6 p.m., local residents noticed a suspicious vehicle getting fuel from a roadside gasoline dealer.
When neighborhood watch members approached the driver, he pulled a pistol and pointed it at them and then attempted to flee. The citizens tried to stop the suspect but were unsuccessful, said area neighborhood watch leader Oday Fakhan. The would-be car bomber tried and failed to hijack a getaway vehicle at gunpoint. But a taxi driver allowed the suspect to enter and took him to a neighborhood in Baladiat, an eastern Baghdad suburb. Meanwhile, Iraqi police were called to the scene and secured the area around the suspicious vehicle.
Iraqi police later interviewed the taxi driver and got a description of the suspect. A search is ongoing.
An Iraqi police explosive ordnance disposal team found the vehicle was wired with five 155 mm artillery rounds and other explosives embedded in the trunk and doors. The car and deactivated explosives were moved to the Rusafa police station for further investigation.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Task Force Baghdad and Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq news releases. Army Maj. Russ Goemaere and Army Spc. Dan Balda contributed to this report.)
Related Sites:
Multinational Force Iraq
Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq
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http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/News_Release.asp?NewsRelease=20051184.txt
NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894
November 18, 2005
Release Number: 05-11-84
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
101ST SOLDIERS FIND WEAPONS CACHE WEST OF BAGHDAD
BAGHDAD, Iraq - After receiving a tip from a local resident, Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division uncovered what turned out to be a large weapons cache west of Baghdad.
The unit initially found a small cache consisting of two rocket-propelled grenades and one AK-47 assault rifle Nov. 14.
After uncovering this weapons cache, the Soldiers of 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment expanded the search of the area, resulting in one of the largest of 17 weapons cache discoveries by 2nd BCT, 101st Airborne Div. to date.
After receiving the informant’s tip, the Soldiers started their search by using a metal detector. They began to dig up munitions and weapons at 3 p.m. and the dig continued until after midnight Nov. 16.
When an explosives ordnance disposal team arrived at the site, the Soldiers were still discovering more weapons caches buried in the field.
“After we found the smaller cache, it just kept going,” said Staff. Sgt. Joel Killian, 1st Platoon, B Troop, 1/75th Cavalry. “First we would find a mortar plate, then we would find the tube. Next, every side road was filled with weapons, so we just continued to search and continued to discover more and more weapons buried in the field.”
As of Nov. 16, the weapons cache consisted of 150,000 7.62 rounds of ammunition, 600 propellant charges, 500 blasting caps, 400 artillery fuses, 150 hand grenades, 150 120-millimeter rounds, 125 rockets, 100 primer charges, 85 82-millimeter mortar rounds, 68 60-millimeter rounds, 50 plastic grenades, 35 anti-tank mines, 13 20-millimeter rockets, 12 RPG launchers, multiple barrels and bags of small-arms ammunition, seven unknown type of missiles, seven rolls of copper wire, three 60-millimeter mortar systems, three 55-gallon drums of fertilizer, three rolls of detonation cord, two 82-millimeter mortar tubes with bases, and one 82-millimeter mortar system.
“This is a great step in removing capability, the means with which terrorists execute their indiscriminate and cowardly violence,” said Col. Todd Ebel, 2/101 commander. “I am very proud of all the Soldiers involved with this cache find. These Soldiers and others like them across this Brigade Combat Team are making a difference in the safety of south Baghdad.”
THIS STORY HAS ACCOMPANYING PHOTOGRAPHS. TO RECEIVE THE PHOTOS, E-MAIL THE CPIC PRESS DESK AT cpicpressdesk@iraq.centcom.mil.
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Cozad, B Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, examines the weapons cache his platoon uncovered Nov. 16. (U.S. Army photo)
BAGHDAD, Iraq – A humvee stands guard over just a small section of a larger weapons cache B Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment uncovered Nov. 16. (U.S. Army photo)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Capt. Matt Ruckman and Staff Sgt. Joel Killian of 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, inspect one of many firing devices uncovered in a weapons cache dug up Nov. 16. (U.S. Army photo)
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Capt. Matt Ruckman, commander of B Troop, 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment, looks at a brand-new mortar, one of many discovered in a weapons cache his Soldiers uncovered Nov. 16. (U.S. Army photo)
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONCERNING THIS RELEASE, CONTACT TASK FORCE BAGHDAD PUBLIC AFFAIRS, SGT. FIRST CLASS DAVID ABRAMS AT DAVID.ABRAMS@ID3.ARMY.MIL.
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