OIF Summary, Dec. 22, 2009: Forces in Iraq Arrest Terrorism Suspects

Dispatches from the Front:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2009 -- Iraq security forces, working with U.S. advisors, arrested 15 terrorism suspects, some of them cell leaders, in Iraq in recent days, military officials reported.

Iraqi forces arrested eight suspected terrorists today in three combined operations conducted to arrest terrorism suspects wanted on warrants in northern Iraq.

In western Mosul, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a home for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member who coordinates funding, weapons and equipment for a bombing cell in the region. After examining evidence at the scene, Iraqi forces arrested three suspected criminal associates of the warranted al-Qaida in Iraq member without incident.

In Beiji, southwest of Kirkuk, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors conducted traffic stops of two vehicles to arrest a wanted al-Qaida in Iraq member suspected of staging deadly bombing and rocket attacks in Mosul and participating in kidnappings of Iraqi civilians.

Security forces stopped two minibuses in southern Beiji based on credible reports that the wanted man was a passenger on one of the buses. Following preliminary questioning and examination of evidence at the scene, Iraqi police arrested four suspected criminal associates of the wanted man without incident.

Also in Beiji today, an Iraqi emergency services unit arrested a man during an operation targeting a suspected member of an al-Qaida in Iraq cell. Iraqi police and U.S. advisors searched several buildings with a warrant for the alleged al-Qaida in Iraq member, who is believed to be responsible for multiple kidnappings and bombing attacks in the region. Following a preliminary examination of evidence at the scene, Iraqi police arrested a suspected criminal associate of the warranted al-Qaida in Iraq member.

In northeastern Baghdad today, Iraqi forces arrested four suspected terrorists during a combined operation to arrest a suspected member of the Kataib Hezbollah terrorist network. Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched several homes for the wanted suspect, who acquires and distributes weapons and bombs to terrorist members who conduct attacks in the Iraqi capital.

In other recent operations in Iraq:

• Iraqi forces and U.S. soldiers arrested a man Dec. 19 on charges of being involved with terrorist groups in the Baghdad area. Based on a warrant issued by an Iraqi judge in Bayaa, U.S. troops of the 30th Heavy Brigade Combat Team and Bayaa police apprehended Sayf Ali Abbas, believed to be responsible for kidnapping and planting roadside bombs.

• Elements of a northern Iraq emergency response battalion, working with U.S. forces, arrested Aqil Jabar al-Tamimi on terrorism charges Dec. 17 near Tikrit by the authority of a warrant issued by the Central Investigative Court of Karkh. Aqil, a suspected Jaysh al-Madhi insurgent force cell leader, allegedly is responsible for the kidnapping of Iraqi civilians. He also is a suspected bombing cell leader believed to be responsible for multiple attacks on Iraqi security forces and other terrorist activities throughout Diyala province through financing and recruiting new members.

• Iraqi and U.S. forces arrested Ali Hussein Hassan Farhat on a warrant for terrorism in northern Iraq, Dec. 15. Farhat, a member of the Islamic State of Iraq terrorist group, was wanted by authorities for his alleged role in multiple assassinations and vehicle-borne bomb attacks in Mosul and throughout Ninevah province.

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