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WASHINGTON, July 16, 2006 – U.S. and Iraqi soldiers killed two terrorists and captured seven others during a joint operation conducted in a rural area northwest of Baghdad late last week, officials in Iraq reported.
The Iraqi soldiers and Multinational Corps Iraq soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, participated in the July 13 firefight. Four local citizens gave information that led to the terrorists' capture. The Iraqis told the soldiers about some men carrying an RPK machine gun and a mortar tube in the neighborhood and provided possible locations. The soldiers observed and tracked the terrorists to nearby houses after using flares to illuminate the area. The terrorists engaged the soldiers with small-arms fire. The U.S. and Iraqi soldiers returned fire, then conducted a house-to-house search for the terrorists. Two dead terrorists were discovered near a ringing cell phone, officials said. An interpreter answered the phone and extracted the location of other suspects from an unidentified woman caller. Iraqi and U.S. soldiers later found a wounded terrorist. They provided first aid to the wounded man and requested a medical evacuation. Three other suspects, found hiding in a ditch, were taken into custody by the Iraqi army and allegedly informed the soldiers that they had been paid to fight Americans, officials said. Each of the suspects was carrying an AK-47 rifle and several magazines of ammunition when they were detained. Seven AK-47s, four RPKs, four fragmentation grenades and approximately 60 7.62 magazines loaded with ammunition were seized in the encounter. A total of seven suspects were taken into custody. In other news, a suspected terrorist was killed when a taxicab exploded after being fired on by an Iraqi army patrol in eastern Baghdad July 13. The taxi had pulled out in front of an Iraqi army patrol and stopped. The soldiers fired warning shots and the vehicle exploded. The suspected terrorist who died in the explosion was a passenger in the taxi. The driver survived with minor burns. The driver was treated for his injuries and was detained for further questioning. No other injuries or damage was reported. (Compiled from Multinational Corps-Iraq press releases.)
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