THE TENSION: OIF Summary; Nov. 16, 2008: Troops in Iraq Kill 2 Suspected Terrorists, Nab 14, Seize Weapons

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces killed two suspected terrorists, captured 14 others and seized dozens of weapons In Iraq the past three days, military officials said.

Coalition troops targeted a senior leader of a terrorist organization during an operation in Baghdad today.

When forces arrived at the residence believed to house the terrorist, they called for its occupants to surrender. Two individuals in the building repeatedly refused to comply with instructions and began acting in a threatening manner, military officials said.

Perceiving hostile intent, coalition forces engaged the men, killing them both. None of the building's other occupants were injured.

In an operation targeting al Qaida in Iraq leadership in Hit today, troops detained one suspected terrorist and three of his associates. The suspected terrorist has alleged ties to al Qaida in Iraq, or AQI, leadership in the region.

During other operations today, coalition forces caught two bombing-network associates in Mosul, and suspected terrorists in As Sadiyah, Abu Ghraib and Kirkuk, military officials said.

During operations in Iraq yesterday:

Iraqi security forces and the national police captured two individuals with possible ties to Al Qaeda in Iraq activity in Mosul. Military officials believe one of the individuals has connections to the city’s illegal terrorist court system. Troops also recovered three AK-47 rifles during a combined operation in the al Rissala neighborhood.

Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained an individual believed to be aligned with an Iranian-backed Special Group and dismantled a homemade bomb in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Elsewhere in the Iraqi capital, forces captured one suspected terrorist believed to be a homemade bomb facilitator with ties to leadership in the Rusafa network.

Multinational Division Baghdad units assisted Iraqi national police in securing and removing hidden stashes of weapons in Baghdad. The weapons – the bulk of which were seized in the New Baghdad section of the Iraqi capital – consisted of mortar rounds and tubes, bomb-making materials and homemade explosives.

In Iraq on Nov. 14:

Coalition troops on a targeted raid in Baghdad’s Rashid district detained a suspected Special Groups associate linked to a weapons trafficker known to operate in the Iraqi capital. The patrol moved the suspect to a combat outpost for additional questioning.

Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers captured a suspected Special Groups member in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad where, meanwhile, Air Force airmen discovered unexploded ordnance.

Iraqi Army soldiers and Iraqi national police seized three weapons caches north of Baghdad. The stockpiles consisted of rocket motors, artillery rounds, rocket warheads, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other military equipment.