Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50577
Troops in Iraq Capture Five Suspects, Seize Weapons
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 – Coalition and Iraqi forces caught five suspected terrorists and seized two weapons caches in Iraq over the past three days, military officials said.
In separate raids in Baghdad today, troops captured a suspected kidnapping cell member and nabbed a man with alleged ties to al-Qaida leaders in Iraq and other countries. The operations targeted al-Qaida in Iraq’s financial infrastructure around the Iraqi capital, military officials said.
In a related operation yesterday, coalition forces detained an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq financier and one additional suspect during a raid near Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad.
Elsewhere in Iraq yesterday, Iraqi security forces discovered two munitions caches in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. An Iraqi citizen in the district’s Bayaa community turned over an 82 mm mortar round to Iraqi National Police. An explosive ordnance disposal unit removed the weapon. In the Saydiyah neighborhood about an hour later, Iraqi soldiers found two rocket-propelled grenades and two sticks of TNT in a house.
“The Iraqi security forces are continuously patrolling the Rashid district every day to provide a safe and secure environment for the Iraqi people,” said Army Maj. Dave Olson, a spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team.
During operations July 21 in Baghdad’s Rashid district, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained a known member of an Iranian-backed “special group” in the Abu Tshir community. Military officials consider the detainee a roadside-bomb expert.
“Any time our soldiers detain a known, high-level criminal, we are reducing violence on the streets of Baghdad,” Olson said. “Our efforts are focused on providing a safe and secure environment for the 1.5 million citizens of southern Baghdad.”
(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=50578
Coalition, Afghan Forces Kill Armed Militants
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, July 23, 2008 – Coalition and Afghan forces killed groups of enemy fighters during operations in Afghanistan this week, military officials said.
While coalition forces yesterday searched compounds in the Sayed Abad district of Wardak province for a Taliban commander, a cadre of militants inside a barricaded house attacked troops with grenades, machine guns and small-arms fire.
Coalition forces fought back using small arms and grenades, and they called in an air strike, killing an unknown number of the enemy fighters, military officials said.
Combined forces also came under ambush during a July 21 operation in the Maruf district of Kandahar province. As troops patrolled the area, militants attacked from a fortified position, using small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The combined force returned small-arms fire and called for close-air support. The retaliation killed several militants and destroyed their attack position, military officials said.
Elsewhere in Afghanistan on July 21, Afghan national security forces and coalition forces observed a group of enemy fighters amassing along a ridgeline in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. As the armed fighters moved into fortified fighting positions, the combined forces engaged them with small-arms fire and called for close-air support, killing the militants.
No Afghan or coalition forces were injured or killed during the engagement, military officials said.
(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 101 news releases.)