Marine, Soldier Killed in Separate Incidents in Iraq

The Marine, assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, was killed while conducting security and stabilization operations in the Anbar province. Military officials in Baghdad provided no further details.

A 1st Corps Support Command soldier was shot and killed during a convoy mission south of Baghdad near Forward Operation Base Kalsu.

In other news from Iraq, U.S. Marines killed three insurgents and captured 13 other suspects in action south of Baghdad on Dec. 14. Elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit engaged the men when it became apparent they were preparing to place a roadside bomb near Mahmudiyah. Marines later searched the site, finding two AK-47 assault rifles, four mortar rounds and 12 fuses.

Elsewhere, Marines rounded up three suspected insurgents in a raid near Yusufiyah and four more while patrolling near Haswah. Later, Marines operating near Lutafiyah captured six suspects and seized a number of weapons, including 85 AK-47s and four pistols.

The latest detainees raise to 96 the number of suspected insurgents picked up by Iraqi and Marine forces in northern Babil and southern Baghdad provinces since Dec. 12.

Iraqi security forces defeated attacks in Mosul by insurgents who tried to seize two police stations Dec. 14, while in other operations Multinational Force Iraq troops detained 10 people wanted for anti-Iraqi activities in northern Iraq.

The police stations came under attack with small-arms fire during a insurgents' coordinated effort to overrun the stations in western and eastern Mosul, officials said. Iraqi police and Iraqi National Guard soldiers repelled the attacks, preventing a reprise of the events of Nov. 10, when many police stations were abandoned and later looted.

Officials said that having now turned aside four insurgent attempts to take over police stations, Iraqi security forces are showing daily signs of strengthening.

Dec. 14 proved to be a busy period elsewhere in Iraq. U.S. soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, conducted a cordon-and-search operation in southeast Mosul and detained nine people suspected of planning and conducting attacks against multinational and Iraqi forces. The suspects are in custody, with no injuries reported during the operation.

And soldiers from the 2nd Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, conducted a cordon- and-search operation just west of Tal Afar and detained one person wanted for anti-Iraqi activities. During a search of a home, several weapons and a large amount of ammunition were confiscated. No injuries were reported.

Also, Iraqi National Guard soldiers foiled a roadside bomb attack when they noticed suspicious wires protruding from a barrier near a checkpoint in Tal Afar. The wires led to two 122 mm rounds, which an explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed in place.

Task Force Danger soldiers from E Troop, 196th Cavalry Regiment, detained three suspected anti-Iraqi insurgents in the village of Yanijah on Dec. 14. The soldiers rounded them up during searches for known insurgents as part of "Operation Ironblade II." The soldiers were looking for an IED manufacturing cell, and bomb-making materials were confiscated in the raid. The detainees are in Iraqi police custody.

Soldiers from the 201st Iraqi National Guard Battalion detained five people during a joint raid with Multinational Force Iraq troops near Bayji on Dec. 14. The soldiers, who were searching for suspected bomb makers, confiscated four assault rifles, one pistol and a mortar sight. The suspects were taken to a Multinational Force detention facility for questioning.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)