Iraqi, Coalition Forces Kill, Capture Terrorists, Seize Weapons

Iraqi soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 3rd Iraqi Army Division, killed two terrorists after being attacked with small-arms fire in Tal Afar. Also in Tal Afar, soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, detained a suspected terrorist after being attacked while on patrol.

Iraqi forces from the 1st Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division, detained 12 individuals suspected of terrorist activity during a cordon-and-search operation in northern Mosul.

Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, detained three terror suspects during a raid in central Mosul, and soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, detained one suspected terrorist during a cordon-and-search operation in northern Mosul. All of the suspects are in custody, and no injuries to friendly forces were reported.

Soldiers from 2nd Squadron, 14th Calvary Regiment seized a large cache of weapons during a search operation south of Mosul June 19. The weapons were confiscated for future destruction.

Elsewhere in Iraq, Iraqi and coalition forces captured 21 terror suspects and uncovered large caches of weapons during operations in central Iraq in recent days, military officials in Baghdad reported.

Task Force Baghdad and Iraqi security forces, acting on tips from two Iraqi citizens, today captured three men who were planning a terrorist attack and uncovered a large cache of weapons, military officials said.

A resident of central Baghdad told Task Force Baghdad soldiers about a group of terrorists were planning an attack on a coalition check point in Abu Ghraib and offered to go with the soldiers to point out exactly where the suspects lived. The soldiers investigated the tip and took three suspects into custody for questioning.

Later, acting on a tip from a second Baghdad resident, Iraqi army soldiers uncovered a cache of weapons containing three mortar rounds, 13 projectiles of various types, 20 pounds of solid rocket fuel, two rockets, an anti-tank mine, and an assortment of blasting caps, fuses and wire.

Iraqi security forces and Task Force Baghdad soldiers also captured five terror suspects, one targeted individual, and two weapons caches in one operation today. A second operation netted four terror suspects, bomb-making materials, triggering devices, one propane cylinder, and various false identification cards at one location. During the operation, Iraqi forces from the Interior Ministry and U.S. soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, conducted simultaneous raids on five targets in southern Baghdad.

"The terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free Iraq, but they are failing," Task Force Baghdad spokesman Army Lt. Col. Clifford Kent said. "Iraq security forces are taking on greater responsibilities. They're getting a lot of support from Iraqi citizens who want a secure country led by their own countrymen."

In earlier operations, Iraqi and coalition forces apprehended five suspected terrorists, including one specifically identified terror-cell financier, in central and southern Baghdad June 18. The captures were the result of searches in four separate locations, military officials said.

Task Force Baghdad soldiers also arrested an Iraqi national a rocket propelled grenade-sighting device was in his possession in western Baghdad.

In other operations around Baghdad, coalition forces uncovered a variety of devices used to make car and roadside bombs, including foot-pedal switches, mechanical timers, switches and relays in a house suspected of being a bomb-making facility. Coalition forces had been watching the house and surrounded and searched it after a man acting suspiciously entered the dwelling. The suspect was taken into custody.

Later, Task Force Baghdad soldiers found a roadside bomb with two 130 mm rounds and a remote-controlled detonator along a major highway. The bomb was safely detonated.

U.S. soldiers from Company A, 1st Battalion, 108th Armor, 48th Brigade Combat Team, conducting a security patrol in southern Baghdad early June 17 discovered a large cache of weapons that included about 100 82 mm mortar cases, 67 mortar fuses, a mortar base plate, and several mortar tubes. An explosive ordnance detachment was called to handle the explosives.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Task Force Baghdad, and Task Force Freedom news releases.)