OIF Summary; Dec. 1, 2008: Troops in Iraq Nab Prison Break Suspects, Others

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 1, 2008 -- Coalition and Iraqi forces captured suspected terrorists during separate operations in northern provinces in recent days, including two men believed to have helped inmates escape from Badush Prison in 2006, military officials reported.

Iraqi security forces, with coalition advisors, captured two suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell members and a suspected illegal militia cell leader during separate operations Nov. 29. In Balad, Iraqi forces captured two suspected members of a Sunni extremist group, one of whom officials said is believed to be a regional commander whose cell conducts attacks against coalition troops.

In Bulayj on Nov. 28, Iraqi troops captured two al-Qaida in Iraq suspects believed to have been planning attacks against coalition forces. One of the men is believed to be the leader of a newly formed direct-action cell operating in the area, officials said.

Iraqi special operations forces detained three suspected al-Qaida in Iraq cell members in eastern Mosul on Nov. 27. The suspects are believed to have operated in an assassination cell and are suspected of killing local nationals and Iraqi security forces. Two of the men allegedly are responsible for aiding the 2006 prison break. Iraqi security forces captured three suspected al-Qaida in Iraq terrorists operating in the same area.

In other news, U.S. and Iraqi soldiers today seized two weapons caches in southern Baghdad. The caches included 63 mortar rounds, 12 rockets, a rocket launcher, 60 boxes of ammunition, about 2,000 loose rounds of ammunition, an anti-aircraft mount, six mortars, 39 rocket-propelled grenades, two rifle grenades and an anti-tank warhead.

Yesterday, U.S. soldiers assisted Iraq National Police in confiscating a weapons cache in New Baghdad that included 63 AK-47 assault rifles, nine AK-47 magazines, two hand grenades, a bolt-action rifle and a rocket-propelled grenade motor.

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)

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