Soldier Killed, Weapons Caches Found, Terror Suspects Arrested

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6, 2005 - A Task Force Baghdad soldier was killed Dec. 4 when a patrol vehicle he was riding in struck a roadside bomb in east Baghdad, military officials reported today.

The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of the next of kin.

In eastern Baghdad, insurgents launched five different roadside bomb attacks against Iraqi and coalition forces Dec. 4, but no U.S. servicemembers were injured in the attacks, officials reported today.

In other news, Iraqi police and coalition forces nabbed six terrorist suspects during a two-hour raid Dec. 4 aimed at breaking up a known terrorist ring in eastern Baghdad. The suspects are being processed in the Iraqi justice system, officials said.

"We're continuing an aggressive campaign to capture the terrorists in our zone," said Army Col. Joseph DiSalvo, commander of coalition forces in eastern Baghdad. "The Iraqi security forces are doing most of the work, and we stand ready to support them whenever necessary."

Around 7 a.m. that day, a patrol from 3rd Battalion, 7th Cavalry, discovered an improvised explosive device. The roadside bomb, a surface-laid antitank mine, was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team. No one was injured in the incident, officials said.

About a half-hour later, an Iraqi army patrol responded to a roadside bomb explosion that had targeted an Iraqi police patrol. No injuries or damage were reported.

Elsewhere, an Army military police patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb that detonated between two vehicles, resulting in no casualties or damage to equipment. A half-hour later, an American tank on patrol was attacked with a roadside bomb that missed the tank and didn't cause any casualties or damage to equipment.

Meanwhile, in the Rusafa area, the Iraqi army and Iraqi police responded to the site of another roadside bomb attack directed against civilians at a marketplace. Six Iraqi civilians were wounded in the attack and were evacuated by Iraqi security forces and emergency services to local hospitals for treatment.

Elsewhere in Iraq, four separate weapons caches containing various rockets, mortars, ammunition, bombs and surface-to-air missiles were found Dec. 5 during a joint U.S. military and Iraqi police cordon-and-search operation in the village of Simaqa in Kirkuk province, officials said. Sixteen people were arrested during the raids and are now in the custody of the Iraqi police. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, and Daquq police officers conducted the operation.

On Dec. 5, Iraqi army and coalition forces uncovered two weapons caches while conducting a combined cordon-and-search operation northwest of Rawah, officials noted. As the troops searched the area of the first cache site, they saw a military-aged man get into a boat and flee the area. The soldiers, of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, were not able to catch the man, officials said.

The first cache consisted of an AK-47 assault rifle with a full magazine, 16 timers in a bag, a cell phone with extra batteries, 21 hand-held radios, three small video cameras loaded with tapes and charged batteries, extra batteries and books. Soldiers found a bag of propellant when they searched the river area from where the man fled.

Less than two hours later, the troops found a second cache during a joint operation in the same area. It included a propane tank filled with explosives, three 155 mm rounds and a sniper rifle. Coalition forces detained seven suspects and two of them volunteered information about the location of more enemy suspects.

Iraqi soldiers detained two military-aged men the same evening while conducting an cordon-and-search operation in northwest Fallujah based on intelligence received. They also discovered two bags of explosive powder and a hand grenade. The suspects are being detained pending further investigation by authorities.

Elsewhere, a joint raid by Iraqi and coalition forces resulted in two suspects detained and several military vehicles recovered Dec. 5 a few miles southwest of Dujayl.

Soldiers with the 4th Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops conducted the early morning raid. Troops also recovered five Toyota Land Cruisers used by the former regime. They also confiscated a large water truck and two assault rifles.

In the Mosul area, a joint patrol of Iraqi police and coalition troops recovered numerous weapons and munitions hidden in and around a home Dec. 5. Officials said two sticks of dynamite and a ski mask were discovered in one room of the house, while anti-coalition propaganda was found in another.

Outside the house, the police and soldiers found a 120 mm round encased in plaster, two canisters filled with dynamite plus another stick of dynamite, and they uncovered an AK-47 bandoleer from a pile of rubble. A second ski mask and materials for making IEDs were found in a courtyard. A shed in the courtyard contained another AK-47 bandoleer, officials said.

Coalition aircraft flew 46 close-air-support missions Dec. 5 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force F-16s, a Predator, and U.S. Navy F/A-18s provided close-air support to coalition troops near Balad and Ramadi.

In addition, 14 U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. Also, U.S. Air Force and Royal Air Force fighter aircraft performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)

Related Sites:

Multinational Force Iraq [http://www.mnf-iraq.com/]

Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq [http://www.mnstci.iraq.centcom.mil]

U.S. Central Command Air Forces [http://www.centaf.af.mil/]

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