MNFI Press Release - May 18

IP FIND LARGE MUNITIONS CACHE IN MOSUL
Iraqi Police in Mosul discovered a buried weapons cache of nearly 500 rounds of munitions while acting on intelligence, May 18th. An inventory of the unearthed items consisted of (120) 60 mm, (220) 82 mm and (100) 120 mm rounds as well as (50) artillery rounds with rockets. All materials were taken to 1 West for exploitation. “The Iraqi Police are becoming increasingly proficient in discovering these caches,” said Maj. Peggy Kageleiry, spokesperson for MultiNational Division - North. “The Iraqi Police are paving the way for a safer and more prosperous nation.”

COALITION DETAINS 15 TERROR SUSPECTS
Coalition Forces captured three wanted terrorist suspects and detained a dozen additional men during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) leadership and financiers on Saturday and Sunday. Coalition Forces targeted AQI senior leaders and their associates during a series of operations in Mosul on Sunday, capturing two wanted men and four additional suspects. The men are believed to be close associates of a terrorist leader in the city. Also on Sunday in Mosul, Coalition Forces conducted an operation to disrupt a planned suicide car bombing attack and detained two suspected terrorists.

Coalition Forces conducted two operations on Sunday in Tikrit, about 100 miles north of Baghdad, targeting individuals who finance AQI. They captured a wanted man who allegedly leads a terrorist attack cell in addition to funding terrorist operations, and discovered a large sum of U.S. money on the scene. Five additional suspects were detained in the operations. In Abu Ghraib, about 15 miles west of Baghdad, Coalition Forces detained one suspected terrorist during a Saturday operation targeting associates of an AQI leader in the Northern Belt around Baghdad.

COALITION KILLS 6 ENEMY PERSONNEL
Coalition forces killed six enemy personnel and destroyed a weapons cache near Khan Bani Sa’ad with air strikes on May 17th. While attempting to disarm a discovered IED, 5th Iraqi Army Division soldiers received small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire. The attack resulted in the death of one IA soldier. Following the attack, Coalition Forces observed four criminals with multiple weapons next to a house suspected of containing a weapons cache. The Coalition used an Air Force jet to engage the building with precision guided munitions destroying the cache and killing the four enemy personnel. A vehicle thought to have been involved in the attack was engaged by a Coalition helicopter. The vehicular engagement resulted in five secondary explosions and the death of two suspects.

MULTINATIONAL SOLDIERS DISCOVER CACHES
Multi-National Soldiers discovered two weapons caches in separate operations on May 15th and 16th. Coalition Forces discovered a cache of rockets on May 15th south of a forward operating base. Soldiers from 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, discovered the cache during a patrol. The cache consisted of (12) 42 mm rockets; (3) 57 mm projectiles; (8) rocket bodies; (8) 120 mm rockets and (10) fuses. The cache was destroyed in a controlled detonation by an explosive ordnance disposal team.

Multi-National Soldiers from 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), found a cache near the Qaqa Apartments in Mahmudiyah, about 26 kilometers southwest of Baghdad on May 16th. A tip from a local citizen led the Soldiers to a cache comprised of (450) 7.62 mm armor-piercing rounds, (1) 60 mm mortar system, (15) rocket-propelled grenade motors, (96) mortar cartridges and (10) pounds of mortar propellant bags. Explosive ordnance disposal personnel transported the items to a Coalition forces forward operating base for disposal.