THE TENSION: OIF Summary; Nov. 14, 2008: Troops Nab 11 Suspected Terrorists in Iraq

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14, 2008 -- Coalition forces in Iraq detained 11 suspected terrorists today and yesterday as they continued operations to expel al-Qaida in Iraq from the country, military officials reported.

Troops detained four suspects during an operation in the Tamim province near Kirkuk today in an effort to dismantle terrorist networks there, officials said. The suspects include a man wanted for his association with a terrorist leader killed in a previous operation.

Also today, coalition forces further unraveled terrorist networks in Mosul during two operations that netted a man suspected of bombings in the city and his associate. A third man suspected of having terrorist ties surrendered to coalition troops as well.

Yesterday, coalition forces captured a wanted man in an operation near Iskandariyah, about 30 miles southwest of Baghdad. Intelligence reports suggest the man was involved in assassinations and other terrorist activities in the region. Two men assessed to be his associates also were detained.

Also yesterday, forces in Beiji, about 100 miles south of Mosul, targeted two al-Qaida in Iraq operatives suspected of bombings in the area.

Also in Iraq this week:

Iraqi forces and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division’s 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, , captured a wanted man during a search in Baghdad’s Rashid area that turned up a 120 mm mortar round. The battalion also found a weapons cache that included two rocket-propelled grenade canisters, two RPG rounds, two RPG launchers, two recoilless rifles, eight 60mm mortar rounds and 43 81 mm mortar rounds.

Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers with 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, attached to the 4th Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, along with Iraqi police, dismantled a bomb and arrested a terrorist suspect yesterday in the Rashid district of Baghdad.