A combined patrol on a routine patrol through Hillah saw three armed men standing outside the mosque. After telling them they could not carry weapons, the patrol left the area.

 

The patrol members returned about 15 minutes later to find the three armed men still in front of the mosque. As the patrol approached, the men ran into the mosque. One of the men ran back out with an AK-47 and pointed it at the patrol.

 

The unit fired on the man with the rifle, killing him. The patrol was then engaged by small-arms fire from the mosque and surrounding buildings. They broke contact, left the area and reported the incident to the Hillah police.

 

In other news, a tip from concerned Iraqi citizens near Lutifiyah provided Iraqi security forces and Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers with the information they needed to detain 25 people suspected of being involved in a marketplace attack in Mahmudiyah last week.

 

Elements of 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, teamed up with Iraqi police from Iskandariyah to pursue the suspects July 28. The tip focused the search at the Al Rahman Mosque, in Lutifiyah.

 

As the congregation departed the mosque after prayer, 25 adult males were detained. Five of the detainees are terrorist suspects connected with bomb-making cells in the area.

 

Elsewhere, a unit from 1st Battalion, 66th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted a cordon-and-search operation north of Baghdad July 28. Two suspected terrorists were detained in the operation.

 

(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)