MNFI Press Release - Jul 6

COALITION CAPTURES SUSPECTED CRIMINAL IN KARADAH
Coalition Forces captured one suspected Special Groups criminal Sunday during operations in the Karadah district of Baghdad. Based on intelligence information, Coalition Forces targeted the home of a suspected senior member of Iranian-trained Special Groups leadership in the Baghdad area. According to suspected Special Groups criminals already in custody, the suspect has conducted rocket attacks on Coalition and Iraqi bases, facilitated weapons from Iran, and sent members of his evil militia to Iran for training. Coalition Forces entered the targeted individual’s location and detained one man without incident. In addition, Coalition Forces found weapons on scene.

AQI NETWORKS DISRUPTED IN PRECISION OPERATIONS
Coalition Forces disrupted an al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) bombing cell and captured four suspected terrorists during operations around Iraq on Saturday and Sunday. An operation on Saturday near Iskandariyah, about 45 kilometers south of Baghdad, targeted a man believed to coordinate suicide car bombings. Coalition Forces detained seven suspected terrorists. Four precision operations on Sunday targeted wanted men for their alleged ties to AQI. In Sharqat, about 90 kilometers south of Mosul, Coalition Forces targeted a weapons facilitator who led a cell of terrorists in the area. When the force arrived to apprehend him, the terrorist refused to comply with their instructions to surrender. Perceiving hostile intent, Coalition Forces engaged the terrorist, killing him.

Coalition Forces nabbed a wanted man suspected of facilitating the movement of foreign terrorists into Iraq during an operation in Husaybah, near the Iraq-Syria border. Another wanted man is in Coalition Forces’ custody after his alleged AQI associates provided information that led to an operation in Bayji, about 160 kilometers south of Mosul. The man is also suspected of helping foreign terrorists travel into the Tigris River Valley to conduct attacks. In Baghdad, Coalition Forces captured a suspect assessed to be involved with bomb distribution and placement. He is also believed to be tied to several regional AQI networks.

MND-B SOLDIERS DETAIN 3 SUSPECTED CRIMINALS
Soldiers from MultiNational Division – Baghdad (MND-B) detained three suspected criminals on July 5th in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, conducted an operation and detained three suspected criminals at approximately 12:15 a.m. in the Shurta community. The patrol returned to a Coalition Forces base with the suspects for further processing.

ISOF, IA DETAIN 8 SUSPECTS, KILL SUICIDE BOMBER
Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF) and Iraqi Army (IA) Soldiers detained eight suspected criminals and killed a suicide bomber in the Ninewah province on July 4th. In one operation, ISOF conducted a mission in the outskirts of Mosul to detain the leader and other cell members of the Islamic State of Iraq, a front organization for AQI. The group is known for operating support networks for weapons supply lines through Mosul to the north along the Tigris River.

Based on warrants, ISOF detained seven suspected criminals. The seven suspects make up a cell that reportedly uses intimidation to silence local Iraqis and extortion to finance the ISI as well as other criminals. The cell leader is also suspected of killing an Iraqi Police officer. During the operation, one cell member targeted in the operation fled into a home and exited wearing a suicide vest with explosives. ISOF killed the individual with smallarms fire before he was able to detonate the vest in the area. I

In another operation in Ninewah Province, the 3rd Iraqi Army Division captured an individual believed to be the leader of a separate AQI cell. The suspect is allegedly operating along the Syrian border in the Ninewah province, providing refuge to transient foreign fighters, and is also involved in the facilitation of improvised explosive devices, vehicle-borne IEDs and other criminal activities. During this operation, IA soldiers detained six other individuals believed to be involved with the AQI cell.