Suspect in soldiers’ abductions in Iraq is detained

OWESAT, Iraq — Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division and the Iraqi army detained a man on Friday suspected of abducting two soldiers missing since May 12.

Ibrahim Abid Aboud al-Janabi was detained after his sister, who says her family imprisoned and tortured her, told soldiers that al-Janabi mutilated and buried two soldiers’ remains in a sand pit a quarter of a mile from their home.

Soldiers dug holes at the initial site but came up empty. They will continue looking for remains among the vast sand dunes.

“We’re going back out there later this evening,” said Capt. Cliff Kazmarek, commander of Company B, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade.

The woman also gave soldiers information on roadside bomb and mortar locations, then told them about three of her other brothers’ insurgent activities.

Spc. Alex R. Jimenez and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, both of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, were abducted after an ambush on an observation post near Yusufiyah this spring.

The body of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who was also abducted May 12, was found in the Euphrates River on May 23.

There is a 252 million dinar (about $2 million) reward for anyone who leads soldiers to Jimenez and Fouty, 101st Airborne Division soldiers said.

Acting on intelligence tips, the 3-187 conducted an air assault on Owesat, landing forces by helicopter at 4 a.m. in the farming village about 15 miles southwest of downtown Baghdad.

After entering other homes as part of a clearing operation and preparation for a new patrol base, Company B came to a house on the Euphrates River where a woman, 23, was locked in a small second story room.

The woman told interpreters that she had been electrically shocked and imprisoned for seven months.

“The conditions of the room, the smell and marks on her body indicates she’s telling the truth,” said an intelligence officer whose identity could not be revealed for security purposes.

At first, the family tried to convince soldiers that the woman was locked up because she was crazy; however, interviews with neighbors disputed the story.

Then she began establishing her credibility by naming high-value insurgent targets already on the soldiers’ lists and matching names to pictures. She also led soldiers directly to a pressure-pad roadside bomb.

The 23-year-old woman was taken into U.S. custody for protection, U.S. officials said.

Ibrahim and his three brothers were taken away in U.S. Black Hawk helicopters with Iraqi army escorts. All but Ibrahim will likely be taken into Iraqi custody, officials said.

A definite change is in the air.

The Military is getting assistance from those who will one day live and prosper in their country.

I lack the ability to adequately convey my pride and absolute admiration for the men and women of the Armed Services who are accomplishing this difficult mission.

I threw the remote at my television this morning listening to Majority Leader Reid defile these hero's on the floor of the Senate today.

As cruel as this sounds, I mean it; May Sen. Reid have his last Thanksgiving this year. So his god may greet him with the same love he displays for our military.

The heartache he causes should boomer rang back 1000 fold.

Update

U.S. continues search for soldiers missing since May

By Erik Slavin, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, November 19, 2007

PATROL BASE DRAGON, Iraq — U.S. forces continued their search Sunday for the possible remains of two soldiers missing since May 12.

Search dogs and imaging equipment roamed over the rocks and sand pits lining the farming village of Owesat, which lies along the Euphrates River, about 15 miles southwest of Baghdad.

The search began Friday as part of Operation Marne Courageous, when a 23-year-old woman who had been imprisoned and tortured by her brother implicated him in the two soldiers’ abductions.

She led soldiers to a wide swath of sand one-quarter from her house, where soldiers began digging.

Her brother, Ibrahim Abid Aboud al-Janabi, remains in U.S. custody as a suspect.

The operation began Friday, when air assaults landed soldiers from the 3rd battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division in Owesat at 4 a.m.

“We’re very satisfied with the operation so far,” Task Force 3-187 executive officer Maj. Will Beck said Sunday. “Some of the intelligence we gathered pointed to many locations (for the missing soldiers), Owesat being one of them. What we’ve found has definitely justified the resources committed to the operation.”

Spc. Alex R. Jimenez and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, both of the 2nd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, were abducted after an ambush on an observation post near Yusufiyah this spring. The body of a third soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., who was also abducted May 12, was found in the Euphrates River on May 23.

There is a 252 million dinar (about $200,000) reward for anyone who leads soldiers to Jimenez and Fouty, U.S. officials said.

The woman is a “wealth of information” and being held in protective custody, a military intelligence official said. She has identified multiple high-value targets and led soldiers to roadside bombs planted in Owesat.

Soldiers have detained seven men suspected of insurgent activities, Beck said Sunday.

There were two initial casualty reports Sunday.

Initial reports indicated two soldiers were injured when an AK-47 magazine on the ground attached to homemade explosives exploded. The soldiers were evacuated to an area military hospital. Both broke bones but did not appear to have life-threatening injuries, according to reports.

Meanwhile, soldiers have found two suicide belts rigged to explode and another one without a fuse since Friday, Beck said. They also found a PKC heavy machine gun, bombs, bomb-making tools and suspicious communications equipment, he said.

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=50369

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