Good News From Iraq & Bits

Suspects detained after attack

TIKRIT, Iraq – Five suspected terrorists were captured by Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers late Nov. 12 after a mortar attack against an Iraqi Army officer’s home near Baqubah.

The troops responding to the attack came under small-arms fire as they approached the area and called for air support. The combination of boots on the ground and aircraft overhead quickly overwhelmed the terrorists, leading to their capture.

The terrorists fired nearly a dozen mortars at the house but were unsuccessful at hitting the structure.

Weapons caches discovered

TIKRIT, Iraq – Iraqi police and Task Force Band of Brothers’ Soldiers found and disposed of two weapons caches Nov. 12.

The police discovery was made at an abandoned Iraqi Army compound near Kirkuk. The cache consisted of 22 proximity fuses for artillery rounds, two mortar rounds and two crates of small arms ammunition.

A second cache was discovered by Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team near Hawija. The Soldiers seized and destroyed 19 rockets and a shaped charge designed to penetrate armored vehicles.

Removing weapons from terrorist hands is a priority for Iraqi and U.S. forces in the area. During the past week, a dozen caches have been unearthed in the north central region of the country by Iraqi security forces and U.S. Soldiers.

Safe house raided, four terrorists killed, four detained

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition Forces acting on multiple intelligence sources and tips from local citizens, raided a suspected al Qaeda in Iraq terrorist safe house Nov. 12 in the village of Qazwan, near Ramadi.

The safe house was suspected to be an operational base of a senior Ramadi area al Qaeda in Iraq leader. During the raid, Coalition Forces killed four terrorists, and detained four additional terrorists, two of which were wounded while attempting to detain them.

Coalition Forces cordoned off the area and called in close air support during the engagement.

The two wounded terrorists were evacuated to a nearby Coalition hospital to be treated for their wounds. They are expected to recover.

Terrorist mortar team captured

TIKRIT, Iraq – A terrorist mortar team was captured and one terrorist was killed early Nov. 12 as they prepared to attack a checkpoint near Baqubah.

The terrorists had a mortar tube set up to fire when a patrol from the 3rd Infantry Division’s 3rd Brigade moved into the area. The terrorists engaged the Soldiers with rocket-propelled grenade and small-arms fire, but were quickly overwhelmed by the patrol.

Six terrorists were captured along with their mortar tube, six mortar shells, the RPG launcher and four RPG rounds. A seventh terrorist was killed in the fire fight.

U.S. Soldiers capture gunman after attack

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Task Force Baghdad Soldiers on patrol in the Abu Ghraib district captured a terrorist suspected of firing at them minutes on Nov. 9.

One of the Soldiers from 1st Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, was struck in the helmet by a round during the sniper attack.

The Soldier was immediately taken to the Abu Ghraib Internment Facility’s medical treatment center and was released without any significant injuries.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the patrol cordoned off the area to search for the terrorist. They found an individual near a firing platform with a clear line of sight to the attack location. The terror suspect had a .30-caliber bolt action rifle with scope and a magazine missing two rounds.

The individual is currently in military custody.

Task Force Baghdad Soldiers capture IED cell members

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Task Force Baghdad Soldiers detained five terror suspects during an early-morning raid in southern Baghdad Nov. 11.

After searching several houses, Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment captured the terrorists who are believed to be members of a roadside bomb emplacement cell operating in the western al Rasheed district.

The group had also been linked to illegal weapons trading and the killing of Iraqi security forces in the area.

Operation Steel Curtain continues

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq –Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines, Soldiers and Sailors with Regimental Combat Team – 2 are in the final phases of clearing operations in the border town of Karabilah.

The goals of Operation al Hajip Elfulathi (Steel Curtain) are to restore Iraqi sovereign control along the Iraq-Syria border and destroy the al Qaeda in Iraq terrorists operating throughout the al Qaim region.

The Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines began Nov. 5 by cordoning Husaybah and began clearing the city from west to east. The force then cleared through approximately two kilometers of desert before reaching and clearing the town of Karabilah.

Some terrorists were reported to have fled from Husaybah into nearby Karabilah. When the Iraqi Soldiers and Marines entered Karabilah Nov. 9 they found the al Qaeda in Iraq-led terrorists had hidden IEDs throughout the city, slowing but not stopping the clearing operations.

Since the beginning of clearing operations in Karabilah, 19 IEDs, three homes booby-trapped with explosives and one vehicle car bomb have been discovered, but only one small arms attack was conducted against Iraqi Army Soldiers and Marines.

Iraqi Soldiers quickly established a safe area for residents at the outset of the operation. Food, lodging, medical care and security from the terrorist violence was offered to the local residents until it was safe for them to return to their homes.

Iraqi and U.S. forces are establishing bases within the two cities. This presence will provide stability and reduce terrorist influence in the al Qaim region.

The offensive is part of the larger Operation Sayaid (Hunter), designed to prevent al Qaeda in Iraq from operating in the Euphrates River Valley and throughout al Anbar and to establish a permanent Iraqi Army presence in the al Qaim region.

Terrorist killed while placing IED

TIKRIT, Iraq – Task Force Band of Brothers Soldiers engaged and killed a terrorist in the process of emplacing an improvised explosive device in Samarra Nov. 11.

The Soldiers observed the man burying the IED under a pile of trash near an intersection.

An explosive ordnance disposal team was called in and removed three 120 mm artillery shells from the site.

** Next time some whiney liberal starts banging on about US abuses in Cuba, tell them about this arsehole who when released started causing islamic terror again....
Ex-Guantanamo Prisoner Detained in Russia
NALCHIK, Russia (AP)

A man who was held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has been detained on suspicion of involvement in attacks on police last month in southern Russia, a senior prosecutor said Friday. Relatives and lawyers confirmed that Rasul Kudayev, a Russian who was released from Guantanamo last year, had been detained and insisted the charges have been fabricated.

Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel said witnesses, along with Kudayev’s own confessions, confirmed his involvement in preparing and carrying out the Oct. 13 attacks on government and law enforcement offices in Nalchik, the capital of the troubled Kabardino-Balkariya region. At least 139 people died in the nearly simultaneous daytime assaults on law enforcement offices, including the 94 accused attackers, according to official tallies. Shepel said more than 40 people have been detained on suspicion of involvement.

Alexandra Zernova, a lawyer for Kudayev, said that her client was physically too weak to participate in the attacks and said he had been tortured into confessing. Kudayev was imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay after being captured in Afghanistan and linked to the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a terror group with alleged ties to al-Qaida. Since his release last year, he and his family have been repeatedly harassed by police, said his mother, Fatimat Takayeva.

Shepel also said that Ruslan Nakhushev, a respected Islamic expert and well-known government critic who has been missing since being questioned by security officers Nov. 4, has been charged with instigating the attack. Kabardino-Balkariya is one of several North Caucasus regions that has long been plagued by endemic corruption and violence—some of it stemming from criminal gang feuds and some spilling over from nearby Chechnya.

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