RELEASE UPDATE
This is an update to Release No. A060507i
Bombmakers in mosque compound blow themselves up
BAGHDAD, Iraq – An explosion occurred in a building within the Sheik Abdel Kader mosque compound at approximately 6 p.m. May 7 in Rusafa, a neighborhood of east Baghdad .
According to the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Division, the bomb exploded, causing a fire.
The Iraqi fire department responded and began suppressing the fire when firefighters noticed an improvised explosive device inside the mosque.
The Iraqi police explosive ordinance disposal team arrived at the mosque to clear the holy site of bombs and bomb making materials. The team dismantled six IEDs.
Initial reports indicate that two terrorists were wounded and another one was killed in the blast.
Iraqi army officials are engaging local leaders to gain more information about the mosque and activities occurring there.
Release A060508dTerrorist chemical expert killed in Baghdad raid
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Ansar al-Islam member and chemical expert, Ali Wali, was killed May 6th at approximately 1 p.m. during a counterterrorist raid in the Mansur district of Baghdad. Iraqi civilians transported the two bodies to the morgue where Coalition forces later confirmed the identity of the wanted terrorist, Ali Wali. Neither Iraqi nor Coalition forces were able to confirm the identity of the driver, who was killed.
Ali Wali, full name believed to be Abbas bin Farnas bin Qafqas, was a 37 or 38-year-old Iraqi Kurd who served as a key leader in Ansar al-Islam's military (operational) command responsible for training and military operations (terrorist activity) to include the planning of suicide operations (bombings), ambushes and kidnapping.
Ali Wali was also an expert in the implementation of explosives as well as in the use of artillery, tanks and anti-aircraft weapons.
Ali Wali allegedly was an expert in toxins and poisons.
1986: Ali Wali lived in Afghanistan where he received training and instructed (taught) on military tactics for over a decade.
Prior to 1998 Ali Wali was a member of the Islamic Unity Movement of Kurdistan.
1998-2001: Ali Wali, having moved to northern Iraq , provided instruction in terrorist tactics, explosives, and weapons handling to provide training to Ansar al Islam members.
2001: Ali Wali was imprisoned for approximately three months while returning to Iraq from Afghanistan for false documentation.
2002: Ansar al-Islam members to include Ali Wali were allegedly manufacturing liquid containing ‘poisons' in northern Iraq .
Release A060508fCitizen leads Calvary scouts to weapons caches
FOB LOYALTY, Iraq – Thanks to the help of an Iraqi citizen, Soldiers from Troop B, 1st Squadron, 61st Calvary Regiment, 506th Infantry Regiment, seized a weapons cache and took two terrorist suspects into custody in the city of al-Duraiya May 3.
The citizen came forward to speak to battalion representatives. While there, he told them about possible terrorist activities in our sector, said Capt. William Arnold, 506th Inf. Regt.
The citizen led the platoon to the location of the weapons caches. The caches consisted of two 122 mm artillery rounds, two 125 mm artillery rounds, five AK-47s, two shotguns, 2,250 linked rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition, 5,420 loose rounds of 7.62 mm ammunition and 35 shotgun shells.
In addition to the cache, the Soldiers detained two terrorists suspected of being part of an improvised-explosive device cell responsible for attacks on Iraqi police in Salman Pak.
Release A060508hIraqi army captures terrorist cell leader in east Baghdad
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, along with 4th Battalion, 320th Field Artillery, 506th Infantry Regiment's Military Transition Team, dealt the anti-Iraqi forces a blow when they detained an al-Qaeda in Iraq cell leader and seven other anti-Iraqi forces in two different raids in the Adhamiyah area May 4.
The first raid led to the capture of the AQIZ cell leader and two other suspects, along with 17 full AK-47 magazines, 20 rolls of TNT, three pistols, two belts of 7.62 mm ammunition and eight boxes of pistol ammunition.
The suspects were then taken into custody and questioned.
“The apprehension of the cell leader was entirely the work of the Iraqi Army,” said Capt. Joshua Brandon, 4-320th FA MiTT. “We (U.S. and Iraqi forces) have been tracking this guy and gathering joint intelligence for the last four months, but the Iraqi Soldiers took the lead and detained this guy and got information on another weapons cache.”'
Acting on a tip from the cell leader, the Soldiers then mounted up again, this time with the help of the MiTT team, and moved out to the second location, where they detained the other five suspects and recovered eight timer switches, one Motorola-rigged detonator, an 82 mm mortar tube, three pipes for rockets, an 82 mm mortar tripod, a 60 mm mortar tripod, an 82 mm base plate, a large rocket, several nine-volt batteries rigged to switches and a bag of paraphernalia.
“The Iraqi Army did a great job,” Brandon said. “This was the best Iraqi Army ran mission that I have seen.”
The capture of the suspects and the weapons cache found help make the area safer for the civilians in the Adhamiyah area.
Release A060508i
MND-B Soldiers uncover 6 weapons caches
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, discovered six weapons caches May 7 during a search in an area southeast of Baghdad.
The caches consisted of four rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 15 rocket-propelled grenades, six rocket-propelled grenade motors, 46 anti-personnel mines, two 155 mm artillery rounds, 1,000 7.62 mm rounds, 100 .45-caliber rounds, eight AK-47 rifles, 37 AK-47 magazines, seven artillery boosters, blasting caps, fragmentation grenades, six unknown mortar rounds, eight ammunition vests, a 10-lb bag of high explosive materials, one-half pound of PE-4 explosive compound and various other bomb-making materials.
All munitions were destroyed by Multi-National Division - Baghdad Explosive Ordnance Disposal teams.
Release A060508jCoalition Forces respond again to insurgent activity in the same location
CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq – In response to hostile insurgent activity, Coalition Forces delivered precision munitions at an abandoned train station in southern Ramadi May 8.
May 7, Coalition forces delivered precision munitions at the same abandoned train station and another building in the vicinity in response to hostile insurgent activity.
The station is a known hub of insurgent activity and had been previously damaged.
Release A060508k
250 Kurds graduate from correction officers course
FORT SUSE, Iraq – Nearly 250 Kurdish guards graduated from a Kurdish correctional officers course May 7, completing their first step toward assuming day-to-day operations at the Fort Suse Theater Internment Facility.
The correctional officers, who were recruited from across northern Iraq , graduated from a five-week training regimen that included classes on a wide array of basic correctional officer duties.
From here, the new correctional officers will continue training with their U.S. counterparts who are currently managing the daily operations at Fort Suse .
Approximately 700 KCOs have now completed the basic course.
Release A060508L
Coalition Forces discover key AQIZ documents during April raid
BAGHDAD, Iraq – During an Apr. 16 raid in the Yusifiyah area, Coalition Forces discovered a large amount of documents and videos ranging from plans to critiques including al Qaida in Iraq 's strategy in Baghdad , and how the terrorist organization lacks leadership, military capability and Iraqi support.
After discovering these documents, the translated versions were sent to Coalition Forces' leadership for analysis, said a Multi-National Force spokesman. Specifically, the al Qaida author of the “Baghdad Strategy” and the “Baghdad State of Affairs” is unknown, but officials assess he is of significance within the terrorist organization. The latter memorandum outlines that al Qaida in Iraq presently has no strategy, that the ‘…mujahideen are not considered more than a daily annoyance to the Shiite government…', and that the ‘…mujahideen in Baghdad are generally groups of assassins without any organized military capabilities.'
“The discovery of theses documents is extremely relevant. This information confirms what the Government of Iraq, Coalition Forces and ultimately the people of Iraq already know - that AQIZ's role only attempts to impede Iraqis in following the road to prosperity, security and national unity,” said MNF-I spokesman, Brig. Gen. Rudy Wright.
According to the translated al-Qaida in Iraq's documents, the Mujahideen's only power lies in surprise ‘hit and run' attacks, or setting up explosive charges and booby traps that predominantly target civilian men, women and children.
According to the author of the Baghdad State of Affairs document (translated), “The actions of the Iraqi Security Forces are having a significant negative impact on the Mujahideen's ability to operate in Baghdad . Al Qaida in Iraq attacks Mosques and other public places to draw media attention and is having difficulty recruiting members because the people of Iraq do not support its cause.”
Iraqi Security and Coalition Forces continue to conduct operations that provide for the safety and security of all Iraqis. The Government of Iraq is presently working on forming its new National Unity Government according to its constitution voted on by all Iraqi people and is a hindrance to the terrorists who do not support this cause.
- The only power the mujahidin have is what they have already demonstrated in hunting down drifted patrols and taking sniper shots at those patrol members who stray far from their patrols, or planting booby traps among the citizens and hiding among them in the hope that the explosions will injure an American or members of the government. In other words, these activities could be understood as hitting the scared and the hiding ones, which is an image that requires a concerted effort to change, as well as Allah’s wisdom.
- The strength of the brothers in Baghdad is built mainly on booby trapped cars, and most of the mujahidin groups in Baghdad are generally groups of assassin without any organized military capabilities.
- There is a clear absence of organization among the groups of the brothers in Baghdad, whether at the leadership level in Baghdad, the brigade leaders, or their groups therein. Coordination among them is very difficult, which appears clearly when the group undertake a join operations
- The policy followed by the brothers in Baghdad is a media oriented policy without a clear comprehensive plan to capture an area or an enemy center. In other words, the significance of the strategy of their work is to show in the media that the American and the government do not control the situation and there is resistance against them. This policy dragged us to the type of operations that are attracted to the media, and we go to the streets from time to time for more possible noisy operations which follow the same direction.
**Hurrah for that, now if only someone would tell the dhimmis at El Beeb
Tags:
MNF Iraq
Al Qaeda
War on Terror
Iraq
Iraqi Army
101st Fighting Keyboardists
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