TIKRIT, Iraq â Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Divisionâs 3rd Brigade Combat Team thought they had discovered a single cache of weapons near Bayji Dec. 20 after a tip from a local resident. On Dec. 23, the Soldiers finished unearthing the last of the weapons from the eleventh cache at the site.âThis place is basically an ammo supply point for the enemy,â said Capt. Matt Bartlett, commander of Company B, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment. âAny attack they wanted to do, whether an IED or small-arms, they could get what they needed here.â
The Rakkasan Soldiers slammed the door to the supply point Dec. 23 with three immense detonations conducted by an explosive ordnance disposal team. More than 1,600 rockets and missiles, 283 large artillery shells, 27 anti-tank mines and 80 assault weapons were pulled from the ground along with nearly a ton of bulk explosives.
It was unclear if the cache was in use by terrorists prior to its excavation. Fresh tire tracks and the lack of wear on some of the weapons and packaging indicated that the deposits were new. In other caches, the weapons were corroded and had documentation with entries ending in 1984, dating them back to before the first Gulf War. Whether the cache was active or not, its contents will never be used to harm anyone thanks to the three labor-intensive days the Soldiers spent excavating the site. In most cases the sites were dug up with shovels then loaded and consolidated by hand.
The resident who tipped off the Soldiers about the cache not only ensured the safety of the local residents from AIF attacks, but also collected a reward of $2,500 for the tip. The U.S. and its allies offer rewards for any information that lead to the capture of certain high profile terrorists and the tools utilized in their trade. This cache find will certainly hamper the enemyâs ability to carry out future attacks against the civilians, security forces of Iraq and all of the Coalition Forces trying to ensure the democratic process will find a peaceful home here in Iraq.