Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46752
Soldiers Detain Suspected al Qaeda Leader; Citizens Foil Car Bomb Attack
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2007 – A suspected al Qaeda leader is among three terrorism suspects detained today in Mosul, Iraq, by coalition and Iraqi forces, and local citizens helped to foil a car-bomb attack in eastern Baghdad.
Officials also reported that a firefight yesterday left about 12 enemy fighters dead.
Among the three suspects captured in Mosul is an alleged al Qaeda leader believed to have been promoted within the organization after recent coalition operations created numerous vacancies in the terrorist organization’s leadership structure.
Intelligence reports also indicate the individual is responsible for mortar and sniper attacks against Iraqi forces and a December attack against coalition forces, officials said.
Also today, troops responded to a phone call to the Adhamiyah Joint Security Station, and residents of the eastern Baghdad district then helped foil an attempted car bombing.
When the troops arrived at the scene, about 30 residents identified a parked vehicle as a possible car bomb. Investigation revealed they were correct, and the explosives were removed from the vehicle and safely detonated.
In other news from Iraq, troops killed about 12 insurgents during a firefight yesterday in eastern Baghdad after coming under attack by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades.
The incident began when insurgents attacked paratroopers from the 1st “Red Devil” Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, attached to the 2nd Infantry Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, in the Fadhl neighborhood of the Rusafa district. The soldiers returned fire and called for attack aviation support in what became a three-hour engagement. The insurgents were heard using the public address system of a local mosque in an appeal for more of their forces to engage coalition forces.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)
Related Sites:
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=46749
Troops in Afghanistan Detain Five Militants; Police Find Weapons Cache
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2007 – Afghan and coalition troops detained five militants today, and Afghan police found a large weapons cache yesterday, military officials reported.
Credible intelligence led coalition forces to compounds in the Dih Bala district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province, where they detained five men suspected of housing militants with ties to al Qaeda. Soldiers found magazines, weapons, grenades and chest racks during a search of the compounds.
“Coalition and Afghan forces are working to remove insurgents who conduct operations that threaten the peaceful people of Afghanistan and undermine the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan,” Army Maj. Christopher Belcher, a coalition spokesman, said.
In other news, Afghan national police recovered a large weapons cache yesterday at a former Taliban training site during a unilateral operation in the Musa Khel district of Khowst province.
Afghan national police planned and executed the mission without coalition-partnered units, using credible intelligence, officials said.
The police recovered 10 107 mm rockets, 22 122 mm mortar fuses, 25 82 mm mortar rounds, 150 anti-aircraft rounds and 5,000 rounds of medium machine-gun ammunition.
“This operation will serve to disrupt the insurgent capabilities to conduct offensive operations in the Khowst province,” Belcher said. “This newly created ANP unit has demonstrated that they can successfully produce results that increase security and stability in the region.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)