Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32986
Forces Capture 21 Suspected Al Qaeda in Iraq Members
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2007 – U.S. troops captured 21 suspected terrorists April 28 in Iraq during a series of raids across the country that targeted al Qaeda in Iraq, military officials said.
“We’re achieving a deliberate, systematic disruption in the al Qaeda in Iraq network,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said.
The captures “will slow al Qaeda’s ability to target and harm the people of Iraq,” Garver said.
Coalition forces netted six suspects during an operation conducted northwest of Karmah, Iraq. The detainees reportedly are linked to murders, kidnappings, attacks on coalition forces and the manufacture of improvised explosive devices, officials said.
Another two suspects were nabbed southeast of al Asad, including one person suspected of being an intelligence officer for al Qaeda in Iraq, officials said.
Two more captured suspected terrorists have alleged al Qaeda ties, officials noted, and are linked to the recent bombing of the Sarafiyah Bridge in Baghdad.
Another four suspected terrorists were detained in Mosul by coalition troops. Those detainees are accused of distributing weapons to al Qaeda in Iraq agents and of operating terror network that employed vehicle-borne IEDs, officials said.
Three other suspected terrorists were captured during a raid east of Balad, Iraq, and coalition forces captured four more suspected terrorists during a raid in Baghdad’s Sadr-City section April 28, officials said.
The recent captures illustrate the coalition’s determination to put added pressure on al Qaeda operatives in Iraq and elsewhere, officials said.
Pentagon officials announced April 27 that senior al Qaeda leader Abdul Hadi al-Iraqi had been captured last fall and is now being held at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In other Iraq news, coalition aircraft destroyed a truck laden with explosives April 27 during nighttime strike just east of Karmah, Iraq, officials said.
The truck had been stopped and searched by U.S. Marines at a checkpoint, who’d discovered the vehicle was loaded with explosives. Marine fighter jets used precision-guided munitions to destroy the truck.
Also, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers found a weapons cache during a patrol west of al Iskandariyah, Iraq, on April 27. The cache contained mortar equipment, a machine gun, a rifle, 75 hand grenades and other items.
In a separate operation, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers found a large weapons cache in Baghdad’s Ghazaliya district April 26.
The cache yielded 127 mortar tubes, 15 hand grenades, 13 rifles, three anti-tank mines, more than 200 pounds of dynamite, small-arms ammunition, 150 fuses, and other items, officials said.
The Iraqi soldiers also detained seven suspected terrorists during the raid.
(Information compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=32989
U.S., Afghan Troops Conduct Raids in Afghanistan
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2007 – American and Afghan security forces teamed up to shut down a militant suicide-vehicle-bomb-making network during an operation in the Bati Kot area of Nangarhar province April 29, military officials reported.
As the raid began, coalition troops trying to enter the militants’ compound came under small-arms fire, officials said. The coalition troops returned fire, killing four militants.
Unfortunately, a woman and a teenager were killed in the crossfire, officials reported, and a young child and a teenage female were wounded. The injured Afghan civilians are being treated at a coalition medical facility.
Coalition forces found several AK-47 rifles, shotguns, chest racks with ammunition and material suitable for constructing improvised explosive devices. An adult male found in the compound was detained for questioning.
“We are saddened at the loss of civilian life,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force-82 spokesman. “It is extremely unfortunate that militants put others’ lives in danger by hiding among their families.”
The raid was conducted on a tipster’s information citing the compound as a staging area for upcoming suicide-vehicle-borne-improvised explosive device attacks on coalition forces in the Bati Kot area, officials said.
A recent militant-staged SVBIED attack in the Bati Kot area had targeted a convoy, officials said, in which several Afghan civilians had been killed.
Additionally, a separate coalition-forces operation conducted in Nangarhar province April 29 netted IED-making material and four suspected militants, officials reported.
In other Afghanistan news, U.S. and Afghan security forces seized an Afghan male and weapons during a raid on a suspected Taliban safe house in Khowst province April 29, officials reported.
A search of several buildings yielded hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades, rocket launchers and an AK-47 rifle, officials said. Militants had been seen exiting a nearby house, according to the resident family. The Taliban had stolen their money and abused them, the family said, while using their house as a hiding place.
“Taliban members don’t have the interest of peaceful Afghans at heart,” Belcher said. “They are simply grabbing for power and putting innocent families in harm’s way in an attempt to renew their hold on this country.”
Another coalition-Afghan security forces-staged raid on a house in the Gubuz district of Khowst province on April 28 resulted in the seizure of several automatic weapons and the detention of three adult males, officials reported. Intelligence reports cited the house as a militant meeting and hiding place.
In other news Afghan and coalition security forces killed 10 Taliban operatives and destroyed two buildings during an air and ground engagement in Helmand province April 28, officials said.
The Taliban had attacked a coalition convoy, which fought back and used close-air support to destroy enemy forces firing from nearby buildings.
“Taliban forces clearly lost this engagement and will continue to lose throughout Afghanistan,” Belcher said.
Additionally, coalition officials reported the death of a key militant leader as the result of an allied operation conducted April 22 in Kunar province in northeastern Afghanistan.
Habib Jan, a senior leader of insurgent forces operating in the Pech Valley and northeast Afghanistan, was killed in the engagement along with four other militants, officials reported. The deceased militants had been flushed out and were being chased by Afghan National Police and Afghan soldiers.
Jan and his followers were wanted by authorities for their role in local bombing attacks, assassinations, and intimidation efforts throughout the region, officials said.
Afghan officials celebrated Jan’s death, citing it as a major victory against the terrorists. Haji Zalmay, the Pech district sub-governor, said Jan “murdered innocent people” and was a major cause of instability in the region.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force - 82 news releases.)