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WASHINGTON, Feb. 8, 2006 – Civic officials in the Sadr City district of Baghdad returned an unmanned aerial vehicle belonging to Multinational Division Baghdad today, officials said.
Maj. Gen. Jawad, commander of the 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, received the aircraft from city officials. Officials had earlier reported that air-traffic controllers lost contact with the UAV shortly after takeoff from an airfield in Taji at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday. But they were aware that it landed within Sadr City. The aircraft was on a flight in support of Iraqi security forces protecting Muslims participating in the Ashura pilgrimage. In other news, soldiers from the 2nd and 4th Battalions, 1st Iraqi Army Division, and coalition forces seized and cleared a weapons cache yesterday in west Fallujah. The cache consisted of eight rockets, four hand grenades, a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, two rifles, eight assorted artillery rounds, two propane tanks, ski masks and various radios. In Afghanistan news, Afghan and coalition forces captured the leader of an improvised-explosive-device cell in Kandahar city last night. The Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police raided a compound in Kandahar and, without firing a round, captured Muhammad Zai, who is suspected of manufacturing and supplying IEDs to insurgents. Afghan security forces have foiled multiple suicide and roadside bombing plots in southern Afghanistan in recent weeks. "Their aim is to not only disrupt the insurgents' ability to conduct further IED attacks, but to also send a strong message that the ANA and ANP will not tolerate further attacks," said Army Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, spokesman for the coalition's Combined Joint Task Force 76.
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