Coalition Forces killed two terrorists, detained one suspected terrorist and destroyed a cache of bomb-making materials during an operation Aug. 4-5 in Diyala province. Ground forces had set up a security perimeter for their operation near Kahylaniyah when a vehicle sped toward them and stopped. Two men armed with AK-47s got out of the vehicle and attempted to fire on the ground forces. Coalition Forces, reacting in self-defense, engaged the armed men, killing them.
During a patrol in the area, Coalition Forces discovered a house containing bomb-making materials and military-style equipment, including camouflage uniforms, binoculars and assault vests. In addition to mortar rounds, a drum of homemade explosives, wires and blasting caps, the ground forces found one fully assembled improvised explosive device. Coalition Forces cleared civilians from the area and military explosives experts conducted a controlled detonation of the house, which had several secondary explosions as the volatile weapons and materials ignited.
A Coalition Forces element stopped at a patrol base during the operation received small arms fire from a nearby palm grove. The ground forces, responding appropriately to drive out the hostile threat, returned fire with mortar rounds and suppressed the incoming fire. Coalition Forces detained one suspected terrorist during the operation for his alleged ties to the local al-Qaeda in Iraq network. ?Eliminating the terrorists who use explosives to kill innocent Iraqis and the security forces who protect them is a top priority? said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. ?We will continue to hunt them down and kill or capture them.? |