Iraqi, U.S. Forces Work to Capture Insurgents, Weapons

According to military reports, nearly 30 insurgents were detained and weapons caches destroyed over the past 48 hours.

In Mosul, multinational forces from 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team) detained four individuals suspected of being involved with an insurgent cell while conducting a raid south of the city today.

Meanwhile, soldiers of the 2nd Battalion, 14th Armored Cavalry Regiment detained three individuals suspected of anti-Iraqi activity during cordon-and- search operations in Tal Afar.

Elsewhere, a joint operation by Iraqi army and Task Force Baghdad soldiers near the Al Rasoul Mosque in eastern Baghdad netted 19 suspected insurgents and various weapons. Those weapons included 15 AK-47 assault rifles, four 9-mm pistols and four PKC machine guns.

In Baghdad, Task Force Baghdad patrols discovered six improvised explosive devices today.

In Fallujah, Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force found high-caliber ammunition and a hand grenade Jan. 25.

Separate tips from local Iraqis helped Marines of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit capture a suspected insurgent and uncover two weapons stockpiles Jan. 25.

A local Iraqi man informed Marines that an area resident had been threatening violence against Iraqis and multinational forces. At the suspect's house, Marines found a sniper rifle and a large supply of ammunition.

In a separate incident, an Iraqi man alerted Marines patrolling southwest of Musayyib to a nearby cache of hidden weapons.

The Marines followed the man to the site, where they found 75 high-explosive projectiles ranging in size from 90 mm to 152 mm, four anti-personnel mines, nine recoilless rifles, and a rocket-propelled grenade.

Military officials said that since Jan. 5, Iraqi security forces and multinational forces have detained 314 individuals and confiscated numerous weapons and munitions.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)