Concerned Iraqi Citizens Provide Information on Terrorists, Weapons Caches

Iraqi forces, U.S. Army keep pressure on terrorists

BAGHDAD - Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers continued to scour the streets of Baghdad during operations Dec. 3-7, hunting down terrorists, disabling roadside bombs and seizing stockpiles of weapons.

Some of the success of these operations can be attributed to tips received from concerned citizens who approached Iraqi and U.S. forces with information about the whereabouts of terrorists and weapons caches.

While Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment were on patrol in south Baghdad Dec. 3, they were approached by two Iraqi citizens who said they knew where suspected terrorists were located. When the U.S. Soldiers went to the residence in question, they found six individuals - two of whom were known for terrorist activity. All six suspects were detained for further questioning.

Another patrol operating in west Baghdad Dec. 3 was stopped by an Iraqi woman who told the Soldiers about an improvised explosive device which had been planted in the area.

The woman pinpointed the location of the IED on a map for the Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 75th Cavalry Regiment. When the patrol went to the location, the Soldiers found a 155-millimeter round with a radio device attached to it. An explosive ordnance disposal team was summoned to the site and the IED was rendered safe.

Soldiers from 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment observed an individual emplacing an IED in the Abu Ghraib district Dec. 6. Task Force Baghdad ground and air assets eventually cornered the individual, along with an accomplice, and detained the pair. Those suspects then positively identified another terrorist known for emplacing IEDs. All three suspects were detained for further questioning.

On Dec. 4, Soldiers from 1st Bn., 184th Inf. Reg. detained two suspects in the vicinity of a meat packing plant in southeast Baghdad after they were found with 20 bags of aluminum sulfate and weapons, including five AK-47 assault rifles, six SKS machine guns and an RPK rifle.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment on patrol in an area southwest of Baghdad reported taking small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire Dec. 3. A patrol from the Iraqi Army swept through the vicinity and detained three individuals suspected of firing on the American Soldiers. There were no U.S. casualties or damage to equipment in the incident.

Task Force Baghdad Soldiers in west Baghdad reported receiving indirect fire Dec. 6. There were no casualties or damage as a result of the attack. Aviation assets quickly pinpointed the origin of the fire and found three mortar tubes which were then destroyed.

Meanwhile, other Task Force Baghdad aviation assets in the area spotted a suspicious vehicle and individuals unloading items and taking them into a nearby house. A ground forces unit later went to the house and detained three terrorists suspected of firing the mortars. The U.S. Soldiers also seized a small cache of a 60-millimeter round, a 130-millimeter round, a 120-millimeter round, a 60-millimeter mortar system and 10 projectiles.

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq

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