Coalition Forces killed four terrorists and detained seven suspected terrorists during operations targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq Sunday.As Coalition Forces targeted an al-Qaeda in Iraq leader believed to be the terrorist emir of a small town east of Balad, surveillance teams observed a group of men enter a nearby mosque. Coalition Forces began their operation, and the surveillance teams saw two enemy elements of two armed men exit the mosque and maneuver into tactical positions against the assault force. Coalition Forces, responding appropriately to the hostile threat, engaged each of the enemy elements, killing one armed man from each. The ground forces continued their operation, which was not associated with the mosque, and detained two suspected terrorists.
East of Samarra, Coalition Forces observed five armed men emplacing improvised explosive devices on the road. Coalition Forces followed the men to a nearby building associated with a Moroccan extremist believed to facilitate the movement of foreign terrorists in Iraq. Coalition Forces observed three armed men outside the building after the IED emplacers entered. Responding appropriately to a group of armed enemy fighters, Coalition Forces called in close air support, which engaged the armed men in the yard of the building, killing two of them. A boy was also injured when a ricochet struck his foot. Coalition Forces medics treated the boy on site and transported him to a military medical facility for further treatment.
Coalition Forces on the ground approached the targeted building and secured the area before detaining four suspected terrorists for participating in the placement of IEDs and their ties to the foreign terrorist facilitator.
North of Fallujah, Coalition Forces targeted and captured an individual with alleged ties to the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of Diyala Province. Intelligence reports indicate the suspect is also connected to other high-level al-Qaeda in Iraq leaders.
“We’re continuing to target all levels of terrorist activity, from the planners to the underlings who carry out attacks,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “The people of Iraq deserve to be free of the influence of terrorists, who don’t respect Muslim holy sites or even human life.”