Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32973
Coalition Forces Detain Seven Suspected Taliban, Kill Five
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2007 – Coalition forces detained seven suspected Taliban members and killed five armed militants in operations in Afghanistan today, military officials reported.
Coalition forces killed five armed militants in an early morning raid on a compound in the Qalat district of Zabul province today. Five others were subdued and taken into custody.
Credible information led the coalition to the compound suspected of sheltering local Taliban leadership connected to Mullah Dadullah Lang, officials said. The militants are suspected of smuggling weapons and planning attacks on coalition forces and peaceful Afghans in the area, officials added.
During the operation, armed militants attempted to engage the coalition forces with automatic weapons and were quickly killed. The compound was thoroughly searched, and forces discovered numerous AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades in the compound and in adjacent caves.
The weapons were destroyed in place.
“We will continue to work relentlessly to eliminate the source of terrorism,” said Army Maj. Christopher Belcher, coalition spokesman. “The Taliban are on the run.”
Elsewhere, two suspects were detained during an operation early this morning by Afghan and coalition forces in the Nangarhar province.
Credible evidence led coalition forces to the compound, suspected of harboring militants responsible for recent improvised explosive device activity in the Bati Kot area, officials said.
“These IED cells are a blight on Afghanistan,” Belcher said. “They kill indiscriminately and put peaceful Afghans at risk.”
During the operation, one suspect resisted and was subdued by coalition forces. No shots were fired and no one was seriously injured.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32978
Coalition Forces Detain 13 Suspects; Detainee Dies in Camp Bucca
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 27, 2007 – In operations throughout Iraq today, coalition forces detained 13 suspected terrorists, military officials reported. Also, a detainee died yesterday at Camp Bucca, Iraq.
Nine suspected terrorists are in coalition forces custody today after raids to disrupt al Qaeda in Iraq operations around the country.
— Near Salman Pak, coalition forces detained a suspected terrorist known to associate with al Qaeda in Iraq and lead a group responsible for kidnapping Iraqis.
— Coalition forces detained five suspected terrorists in Mosul who are allegedly involved in a group responsible for making and using car bombs and attacks on the Iraqi army, Iraqi police and coalition forces.
— In Baghdad, coalition forces detained an individual suspected of facilitating the movement of foreign fighters and bomb-making materials.
— Two suspected terrorists were detained near Ramadi when coalition forces found them with weapons and materials used in making improvised explosive devices.
“Coalition forces are continuing to disrupt the networks that make and use deadly IEDs to harm Iraqis and those who are trying to build a stable Iraq,” said Army Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman.
In another operation, coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists today in Sadr City.
The individuals targeted during the raid are suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training, officials said.
Intelligence reports also indicate the secret cell has ties to a kidnapping network that conducts attacks within Iraq.
“Individuals coming into Iraq from other countries for the purpose of endangering Iraqi civilians and disrupting security won’t be tolerated,” Garver said. “We will continue to work diligently to rid Iraq of foreign terrorists trying to thwart the development of a stable and peaceful Iraq.”
In other news, a security detainee died yesterday at Camp Bucca, Iraq, from injuries suffered during an apparent assault by other detainees.
An investigation is pending to determine the cause of death, a standard procedure for detainees who die while in custody of the Multinational Force Iraq, officials said. The family will receive the remains upon completion of the investigation into his death.
More than 19,000 detainees are held in two MNF-I theater internment facilities in Iraq. In the past year, six detainees have died in MNF-I facilities as a result of detainee-on-detainee violence, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)