Coalition Forces freed 12 Iraqis who were held captive and beaten by terrorists during a raid Tuesday morning on a site northeast of Karmah targeted for its ties to another terrorist detention facility.
After five Iraqi hostages were freed May 21, intelligence reports indicated two buildings were being used for kidnappings and murders. As Coalition Forces approached the first building, armed men engaged them with small arms fire. In an appropriate response to the hostile threat from an organized force, ground forces returned fire and called in air support. Five terrorists were killed by the ground forces and four were killed in an air strike.
Coalition Forces then secured the building and discovered 12 Iraqis held captive in a locked room, three of whom appeared to have been beaten. The ground force evacuated the 12 individuals and provided treatment for their injuries. The hostages will be turned over to their respective tribal leaders for repatriation.
The first building also contained a cache of weapons, including two rocket-propelled grenades, a sub-machine gun, rifles and 19 military-style assault vests. The weapons were safely destroyed on site. In the second building, Coalition Forces found stolen goods and detained three suspected terrorists there for their alleged ties to the kidnapping network. |