THE TENSION: Combat Camera: Soldiers Discover, Raid al Qaida Torture House

A pair of handcuffs attached to a window bar was located near a set of open wires connected to an on / off switch. Soldiers believe the instrument was used to torture individuals. (Photographer: Multi-National Division-Center.)

Hooks attached to a door were found in a torture house discovered in a patrol by soldiers of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, in Zambraniyah March 5. Sons of Iraq present said the hooks were used to hang people from. (Photographer: Multi-National Division-Center.)

Soldiers of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, discovered an insurgent torture house while on patrol in Zambraniyah March 5. (Photographer: Multi-National Division-Center.)

Dispatches from the Front:

FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq, March 8, 2008 -- Sons of Iraq (SOI) led coalition forces to an al Qaida in Iraq (AQI) torture house and prison in northern Zambraniyah March 5.

The patrol was conducted based on intelligence provided by an SOI leader in the area, said Capt. Chris O’Brian, troop commander of Troop C, 6th Squadron, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, currently attached to 2nd BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

“The guy wants to clean up the area,” said O’Brian, a native of Herndon, Va. “AQI killed half his family.” The SOI leader, who heads a group of 300 SOI, worked with his men in support of Troop C soldiers on the patrol.

The patrol began early in the morning as soldiers cleared houses in an area suspected of harboring insurgents, said O’Brian.

During the initial phase of the mission, the group came under small arms fire. Reacting to contact, the enemy, who was observed wearing black, ran away.

As the patrol continued, the group discovered a man dressed in black in a suspected AQI safe house. The man was detained on suspicion of involvement in insurgent activities and the likelihood that he was involved in the earlier attack.

SOIs are pointing out the bad guys in the neighborhood, O’Brian said, adding that they have also provided actionable intelligence.

Much of that intelligence indicated that there may be an AQI prison or torture house in the town, O’Brian said, noting that he was receiving reports on the possibility for the past week.

That intelligence led soldiers to a house full of materials used by insurgents for torture.

O’Brian said they discovered hand cuffs, an electrocution system consisting of bare wires linked to an on / off switch running to handcuffs on a window bar, and hanging hooks used for humans.

Twelve interrogation books written in Arabic were found along with several sets of female clothing. A bloody hand print was also present.

(Story from a Multi-National Division - Center press release.)