MNFI Press Release - June 11

IRAQI CITIZEN RECOVERS EXPLOSIVES FROM AQI
An Iraqi citizen recovered a bag of C4 explosives from two fleeing suspected al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) members near al-Aziziyah, approximately 79 kilometers southwest of Baghdad on June 9th. The Iraqi man, suspicious due to recent thefts in the area, began chasing two men he suspected to be AQI. The two men abandoned a bag as they fled on dirt bikes. The man recovered the dropped bag, which contained a cache of several blocks of C4, Russian PE4 and other explosive making equipment. He then turned the weapons cache over to Special Forces at a base in al-Kut. The suspected AQI members have been hiding in the town and disguising themselves as shepherds in order to ambush and steal from the local population. The cache has been moved and will be destroyed by a Coalition explosive ordnance disposal team.

HIDDEN WEAPONS FOUND NEAR HILLAH
Iraqi Army (IA) Soldiers discovered a huge weapons cache in a rural area southeast of Hillah on June 6th. The cache contained (3) assembled explosively-formed projectiles (EFPs), (10) unassembled EFPs, (3) rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, (10) RPGs, (127) blocks of C-4, (15) cameras, (1) magnetic IED and (2) mines. “The discovery of this cache is another example of the IA’s increasing ability to gather intelligence, process the information and plan and execute in a timely manner,” said Lt. Col. Darryl McDowell, commander of 4th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Infantry Division. “The Iraqi security forces (ISF) are taking the lead in confiscating illegal weapons before they can do harm to [Coalition forces and ISF]. They take great pride in being out front and they really seem to understand their role in the success of Iraq as a whole.”

Soldiers in 1st Battalion, 31st Brigade, 8th IA Division, received information from a source and found a cache containing both complete and partially-assembled EFPs, RPG launchers and C-4 explosives. “This find is significant for two reasons,” McDowell said. “First, more of the population is coming to the IA in the area with tips and information than ever before. This indicates a level of trust in the IA that is very encouraging. Second, it does serve as a reminder of the level of sophistication and production of (IEDs) that extremist elements have reached.” An explosive ordnance disposal team from Kalsu collected the cache and disposed of it.

MARINES FIND, DESTROY ENEMY WEAPONS
Marines of 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 1, and Company B, 4th Combat Engineer Battalion, have worked together day in and day out, searching for weapon caches and disabling the enemy’s number one threat; IEDs. The two reserve units, 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines from Chicago, and Bravo Company, 4th CEB from Roanoke, VA, have together uncovered thousands of pounds of explosive ordinance, ammunition and explosives throughout the first four months of their seven month deployment in Anbar province. “We’re out there every day digging up areas where we have intelligence about a cache,” said Lance Corporal Michael W. Lund, a combat engineer with 4th CEB. “Since we’ve been here, we’ve [together with 2/24] found thousands of pounds of ordinance and it’s important because it takes away weapons that could have been used against Marines.”