Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=49462
Troops Kill Suspected Terrorists, Capture Others in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed seven suspected terrorists, detained 10 others and seized weapons and explosives in Iraq the past three days, military officials said.
During operations today:
— Troops detained a suspected Iranian-backed “special groups” criminal and two other suspects early this morning in the Hillah area south of Baghdad. The targeted suspect allegedly had planned to assassinate Hillah police leaders. He also is suspected of providing special groups cells with $100,000 and operational intelligence, officials said.
— Ground forces captured a suspect west of Qayyarah who allegedly is tied to al Qaeda in Iraq leaders and their smuggling network. Coalition forces identified the individual based on intelligence gathered during a March 30 operation. Troops detained one additional suspect.
— Coalition forces in Mosul captured two suspects who are believed to be linked to a senior figure in the al Qaeda in Iraq network.
In Iraq operations yesterday:
— Coalition troops east of Samarra stopped a truck in which a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq associate was traveling with three other individuals. When two passengers reached for weapons in the back of the vehicle, coalition forces perceived hostile intent and engaged the men, killing all four.
— Coalition aircraft conducted a precision strike on a house in Basra, killing two criminals. Coalition forces are unaware of any civilians killed in the strike; they are currently investigating the matter further, military officials said.
— Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers engaged and killed a man planting a roadside bomb in northeastern Baghdad. Military officials said another suspected emplacer and a local woman being used as a human shield also were wounded in the incident; officials extended their sympathies to the victim and her family.
— Troops captured a wanted individual during operations in Mosul. The suspect is believed to be a senior figure in the al Qaeda in Iraq network and tied to several senior terrorist leaders. Coalition forces nabbed one additional suspect.
— A local Iraqi led a unit of Multinational Division Center soldiers to a key suspect in Salman Pak, where troops detained the individual. The suspect was No. 2 on Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment’s list of suspected criminals and No. 4 on Multinational Division Center’s list.
— Iraqi army and Multinational Division Center soldiers recovered five weapons caches in Kutimiyah. The caches contained 45 rocket-propelled grenades, a .50-caliber machine gun with 500 rounds of ammunition, dozens of fuses, an anti-personnel mine, two 81 mm mortar tubes, a machine gun and various ammunition.
— Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers seized a munitions cache while patrolling the New Baghdad area of the Iraqi capital. The cache contained armor-piercing explosively formed penetrators, rocket-propelled grenades, RPG launchers and sticks of RPG propellant.
In Mahmudiyah on April 1, a tip from an Iraqi citizen led Iraqi Army soldiers to a local weapons cache. The cache contained two explosively formed projectiles, four rocket-propelled grenades, a 60 mm mortar tube and mortar round, and small-arms ammunition.
(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=49464
Enemy Attacks Give Coalition Opportunities, General Says
By Sgt. Sara Moore, USA
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 – The recent increase in attacks by Shiia extremists in Iraq gave coalition forces in the center of the country opportunities to target extremist cells and degrade their capabilities, the U.S. general in charge of operations in the area said today.
From March 25 to 30, Shiia extremists in the Multinational Division Center area of operations stepped up attacks in conjunction with a spike in violence in Basra and southern Baghdad, Army Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, the division’s commander, told reporters in Baghdad. That violence flared after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered Iraqi forces to clamp down on illegal militias, criminals and thugs in Basra. Shiia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr’s Jaysh al-Mahdi organization contested the Iraqi security forces, and fighting spread north to Baghdad and other Shiia cities in the south.
In the Multinational Division Center area, there were some 78 attacks by Shiia extremists during the six-day period, Lynch said. These attacks targeted coalition forces, Iraqi security forces and Iraqi civilians, and included the use of improvised explosive devices, armor-piercing explosively formed penetrators, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire, he said. One U.S. soldier, 17 Iraqi security forces members and five civilians were killed in the attacks, and many more were wounded.
While these attacks did cause casualties, they also brought a lot of the Shiia extremists out of hiding and gave the coalition and Iraqi forces an opportunity to target them, Lynch said. Division leaders previously had estimated that about 600 Shiia extremists were in their area, making up about 10 so-called “special groups.” The increased attacks allowed the coalition to more easily target them, and during the six-day period, coalition and Iraqi forces captured four high-value individuals, killed 69 extremists, wounded five, and detained 537 suspects, he said. The suspects were questioned, and 230 are still in detention.
“The enemy needed his leaders to conduct operations; we took some of those away,” Lynch said. “The enemy needed his ‘led,’ his soldiers if you will, and many of those are now currently detained.”
The combined forces also found 18 weapons caches that contained various types of ammunition, bombs and other weapons, Lynch said.
“We experienced a tactical and an operational opportunity to take the fight to the Shiia extremists,” Lynch said of the six-day period of increased violence.
Since March 30, attacks in the Multinational Division Center area have gone back to their normal levels, with just one attack occurring yesterday and none the day before, Lynch said. Since taking command of forces in the area 13 months ago, Lynch said, he’s seen a significant decrease in violence and an increased focus on rebuilding Iraqi society.
Lynch’s soldiers occupy 57 different patrol bases throughout the area with Iraqi security forces, and that presence has helped build trust with the locals, the general said.
“What we have found is the local population, as a result of seeing the patrol base, they come forward and ask two questions,” he said. “The first question is, ‘Are you staying?’ and when the local population is convinced we’re going to stay, the next question is, ‘How can we help?’”
About 36,000 concerned local citizens are helping to secure their neighborhoods in “Sons of Iraq” security groups in the division’s area, Lynch said. And as the violence has decreased, the people have focused more on improving their quality of life, he added.
“Now, when I go to patrol bases … I immediately leave the patrol base and go visit with the population, talk to the people,” he said. “The conversation now has changed. It’s no longer about security; it’s about jobs. It’s about capacity; it’s about the economy; it’s about local governments.”