MNFI Press Release - Nov 19

COMBINED OPERATION YIELDS RIFLE CACHE
MND-B Soldiers and Iraqi National Police (INP) confiscated a rifle cache on November 18th during a clearance operation in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad. During the morning op, Soldiers from 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B, and INP from the 7th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, seized (38) AK-47 assault rifles, (3) sniper rifles, and (14) AK-47 magazines in the Abu T’shir community.

MND-B SOLDIERS, ISF CONDUCT JOINT OP
To combat the threat in northern Adhamiyah, MND–B Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces conducted a joint operation in Baghdad’s Istaqlal district on November 18th. Soldiers from MND-B’s 1st Combined Arms Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and 1st Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, partnered with the Iraqi Army’s 1st Battalion, 42nd Brigade, 11th Division, and the National Police’s 3rd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Division and 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, for the maneuver. The early morning operation netted seven detainees and, hopefully, safer streets for the Iraqi people as well as Iraqi Security and Coalition forces.

A coalition of American and Iraqi soldiers participated in clearing and searching buildings, vehicles and nearby fields. Some of those Soldiers were inserted into the area via helicopter to provide quick access to areas that would take too long to reach via ground transportation. Shortly after the sun rose, the Soldiers had cleared their target areas and returned to their bases across northern Baghdad. “This mission truly showed the value of the Iraqi Security Forces in helping prevent a dangerous and deadly tool of the enemy from hurting the good people of Iraq as well as other members of the security forces in northern Baghdad,” said Maj. Michael Humphreys, who serves as the public affairs officer for 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div.

TROOPS DISRUPT AQI LEADERSHIP, NETWORKS
Coalition operations further dismantled AQI's terrorist leadership and bombing networks throughout Iraq on Monday and Tuesday, as forces captured four wanted men and detained 14 suspected terrorists, military officials reported.
Forces continued to strike terrorist leadership in Iraq Tuesday night. During an operation in Beiji, south of Mosul, forces detained a man believed to be associated with a terrorist leader in the city. Forces in Sadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, detained four men believed to have connections to a senior courier in the Diyala AQI network.

Two synchronized operations Tuesday in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, degraded AQI’s bombing networks in the Tigris River Valley. During one op, Coalition forces captured a wanted man believed to house suicide bombers and facilitate AQI meetings in his residence. He and three other suspects were detained. A concurrent operation in Tarmiyah netted a second wanted man believed to train AQI operatives on IED construction and employment. The suspected terrorist, who reports suggest was actively planning a car bomb attack in the Tarmiyah area, surrendered himself to Coalition forces, officials said. Four other men believed to be associates of the wanted man were detained for further questioning.

Terrorist bombing networks also were the target of a coalition operation in Beiji yesterday. There, a wanted man associated with IED facilitation networks in the Tigris River Valley was captured. He surrendered himself to Coalition forces without incident. Ground forces in Mosul captured a wanted man, believed to be an IED facilitator, along with two additional suspects. The wanted man also is believed to be an administrator and operations planner for a terrorist organization affiliated with AQI, officials said.

In other Iraq news, two terrorists were killed and four men were detained during intelligence-driven ops in Mosul on November 16th and 17th. On the 16th, Iraqi Police and U.S. Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, killed two enemy fighters during an operation in the Amel neighborhood. The Police officers also confiscated a 9 mm pistol and two fragmentary hand grenades. During Monday’s op, Iraqi Soldiers and Soldiers with the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, captured four suspected terrorists in the Tameen neighborhood.