Saturday, November 19
SCUZBALL PLANS DISRUPTED BY IRAQI, U.S. GRUNTS
| November 19, 2005 BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq Army and Task Force Baghdad Soldiers disrupted terrorist cells, seized weapons caches and stopped several anti-Iraqi forces from carrying out attacks during operations in the city Nov. 14-16. The Iraqi Army took the lead in a cordon and search designed to ferret out anti-Iraqi forces cell leaders tied to the development, distribution and emplacement of improvised explosive devices. During the operation in Sadr City, the Soldiers from 2nd and 3rd Battalions of the 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade, along with U.S. Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, detained 23 individuals and seized weapons, ammunition, and terrorist propaganda materials. This is just one example of the Iraqi Army’s ongoing presence throughout Baghdad as its Soldiers thwart terrorist activities in local neighborhoods. During the three-day period, Iraqi Army units conducted more than 1,250 patrols. In another cordon-and-search operation Nov. 15, a platoon from 1st Battalion, 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade nabbed five members of an anti-Iraqi forces cell who were planning an attack on the Italian Embassy in Baghdad. The Iraqi Soldiers also seized two vehicles which the terrorists had planned to use in the attack. U.S. Soldiers from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division conducting operations in southwestern Baghdad conducted a knock and search of a house Nov. 15. When the owner appeared reluctant to open a shed on his property, the Soldiers grew suspicious and searched the building. Inside, they found wires, computer parts, timers and 14 magazines for AK-47 assault rifles. The individual was detained for further questioning. An alert Iraqi Police officer discovered an improvised explosive device in a black bag near a bus stop in west Baghdad Nov. 16. Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division responded to the incident. An explosive ordnance disposal team summoned to the scene confirmed the bag contained an anti-tank mine wired to a detonation device. The EOD team recovered the explosives and rendered the area safe. In other operations, Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured suspected terrorists who were seen loitering around attack sites. After a convoy from 1st Bn., 87th Inf. was hit with a small IED in west Baghdad Nov. 15, another Task Force Baghdad unit in the area reported spotting an individual on a nearby roof. The suspect was watching the IED strike and talking on a cell phone. The two U.S. elements joined in a search of a nearby house where they caught the rooftop lurker and detained him for further questioning. Another Task Force Baghdad unit on patrol on a road west of Baghdad Nov. 15 discovered an IED before it detonated. An EOD team disarmed the device and cleared the site. As they were doing so, Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 11th Cavalry Regiment, attached to 1st BCT, 10th Mountain Div., detained two suspicious individuals who were loitering around the IED site as the EOD team dismantled the device. Military officials later determined they recently handled explosives. Soldiers from 2nd BCT’s 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry came under attack from small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades. The Soldiers pursued the attackers, returning their fire and killing three terrorists. The unit searched houses in the area and detained eight suspects. There were no U.S. casualties or equipment damage in the incident. Soldiers from 2/101st Airborne Div. discovered a weapons cache of 22 60-millimeter mortar rounds and 18 fuses Nov. 15 during a search of a farm in south Baghdad. An EOD team later destroyed the munitions in controlled detonation. Weblog LINK |
