|
WASHINGTON, Sept. 2, 2004 – U.S. soldiers and Iraqi National Guard members operating near Muqdadiyah today captured two suspected insurgents and found a weapons cache.
Ordnance seized in the operation included 200 rounds of 14.5 mm ammunition, one rocket-propelled grenade launcher, two RPG rounds, one improvised rocket launcher, six 37 mm rockets, one 60 mm mortar system, 11 mortar rounds, four artillery shells, and bomb-making materials. The suspects were taken to a coalition detention facility for questioning, while the confiscated ordnance was removed for destruction. In downtown Mosul on Sept. 1, one Iraqi policeman was killed, another was wounded and 17 civilians were injured during a terrorist mortar attack. Four mortars were reportedly used in the assault. The city's government building was one of the targets, according to Col. Khalid Hassan Ahmad, an Iraqi staff officer at the Joint Coordination Center for northern Iraq. Iraqi police secured areas that had been hit, while firefighters attended to the injured. Wounded Iraqis were taken to Mosul's Al Jamhouri Hospital for treatment. In Najaf, Marines and Army civil affairs personnel with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force's 3rd Civil Affairs Group continue to work on basic services and other projects. Construction of the Sadeer Canal in Najaf and a new bridge in Qadisiyah are almost complete. Repairs and reconstruction on the An Najaf Teaching Hospital are ongoing. A recent flooding problem has been stabilized and pipes and pumps are being brought in from Baghdad to fix the problem. Civil Affairs will help in the reconstruction of Najaf government buildings damaged in the fighting. New construction includes plans for a building that will house the provincial council, which is currently collocated with the governor's office. Schools and mosques in both Najaf and Kufa will be refurbished, repaired and where necessary, rebuilt. A women's center for Internet and newspaper access is under construction in Qadisiyah in order to improve the flow of information to residents in the area. Other projects include reconstruction of Misain and the Taha Hussein School, repairs to Al Sahla Mosque in Kufa, cleanup of the Al Faris Al Arabi, Maarifa Nahil and Nabu Khuth Nasir schools in Najaf, and construction of Qadisiyah Teachers Union. (Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq press releases.)
|
