Troops in Iraq Kill 8, Detain 24

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2008 -- Forces in Iraq killed eight enemy fighters, detained 24 terrorism suspects and found various weapons in recent operations, military officials said.

Coalition forces killed four men and detained nine suspected terrorists today after detainees in custody provided them with information regarding the location of an al-Qaida in Iraq suicide-bombing network.

Coalition forces positively identified the targeted individual, known for making suicide vests, and followed him into a remote area north of Baqouba, about 50 kilometers north of Baghdad. The area was believed to be a hideout used to house weapons, and the house was rigged with booby traps, officials said.

Coalition forces called for supporting aircraft to engage the area, which triggered several secondary explosions, indicating bomb materials and weapons on the ground. Four men were killed in the engagement.

Once the site was safe, the ground force moved in and discovered a tunnel system, fighting positions, weapons, military-style assault vests, and documents detailing terrorist operations.

Also today, coalition forces targeted another member of the Diyala suicide-bombing network who had fled to Tikrit, and they detained three suspected terrorists during the operation.

In Mosul, coalition forces captured a wanted man and one other suspect who are alleged associates of al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders.

Yesterday in Abu Ghraib, coalition forces captured an alleged al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda cell leader. The man is believed to spearhead production and distribution of extremist propaganda in Baghdad and have ties to al-Qaida members outside Iraq. Coalition forces discovered large amounts of media materials in the targeted building and detained one additional suspect.

In other operations yesterday:

• Members of “Sons of Iraq,” a citizen security group, prevented an enemy car-bomb attack by killing four al-Qaida in Iraq members in Salahuddin province.

• Iraqi soldiers in Mosul captured two suspected members of al-Qaida in Iraq in an operation to capture suspected terrorists who allegedly are responsible for killing an Iraqi soldier and for car-bomb attacks in Mosul. Six additional suspects were detained during the operation, officials said.

• Iraqi special operations forces captured a criminal who reportedly is involved in the kidnapping and killing of Iraqi soldiers and the murders of Iraqi civilians in the Basra area.

• Iraqi soldiers seized three weapons caches in Baghdad’s Sadr City district. The cache contained homemade bombs and grenades. In other parts of Sadr City, soldiers discovered rockets, rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, rifles, various machine guns, and hundreds of AK-47 assault-rifle rounds.

• Iraqi national police, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and local Iraqis all pitched in to help rid the streets in Baghdad of weapons, officials said. Among the weapons found were homemade bombs, Iraqi army body-armor vests, anti-aircraft projectiles, mortar rounds, a bag of unknown powder, rockets, and rocket-propelled grenades.

In June 10 operations, Iraqi and coalition forces captured three suspected terrorists allegedly responsible for bomb attacks. Four other suspects were detained. Enemy fighters engaged the Iraqi and coalition forces, and one man detonated a suicide bomb. Another man threw a grenade at coalition forces, who then fired back, killing him, military officials said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

Tags: DOD, War, Military, GWOT, terrorism, al Qaeda, al Qaida, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, United States, U.S., coalition, Iraq, Dispatches from the Front, Multinational Force
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Buzz, Tension