THE TENSION: Troops Detain 37 Suspected Terrorists in Northern Iraq

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 19, 2008 -- U.S. and Iraqi troops detained 35 suspected terrorists during recent operations in northern Iraq, military officials said.

Coalition forces captured 21 suspected terrorists in various operations today across northern Iraq:

Eight were detained in Tarmiyah, about 25 miles north of Baghdad, for their alleged association with a terrorist network responsible for numerous bombings, murders and hijackings, and for transporting terrorists throughout the country, officials said.

Coalition forces captured six suspected terrorists in Mosul. One man is wanted for his connections with al-Qaida leaders and foreign-terrorist facilitators throughout the country. Five others were detained with him.

In Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, coalition forces arrested four suspected terrorists connected to a car-bombing network. Two suspected bombing financiers were detained in Balad, just south of Beiji, and another individual was captured in Biaj, about 80 miles southwest of Mosul, for harboring terrorists.

In operations yesterday:

Troops from 2nd Iraqi Army Division captured three suspected terrorists, including one believed to be a mid-level leader with the Islamic State of Iraq terrorist group in Mosul. The suspected leader is accused of facilitating and distributing homemade bombs and allegedly is responsible for numerous bombing attacks and killings of Iraqi and U.S. troops, officials said.

Tips from local residents led soldiers from 10th Mountain Division’s 4th Brigade Combat Team to capture six suspected terrorists in Baghdad’s New Baghdad district. Three of the men allegedly are associated with weapons caches discovered in a metalworking shop. They also are believed to be linked to three roadside bombs designed to pierce armor-hulled vehicles found May 15 near the area, officials said.

An Iraqi emergency response unit captured three men allegedly associated with the Islamic State of Iraq and seized a weapons cache in Kedraniyah, about 60 miles southeast of Mosul. The cache consisted of about 100 pounds of explosive materials, land mines, a sniper rifle with homemade silencer, a Katyusha rocket, hand grenades, and several thousand small-arms and artillery rounds, officials said.