A total of 11 caches have been discovered and more than 60 suspected insurgents detained as Operation Swarmer continued for a third day March 18.
Coalition Forces did encounter an IED along one of the roads in the area today and one vehicle was damaged. No troops were injured in the attack.
As of 6 p.m., Iraqi time, March 18, there had been no Iraqi or Coalition casualties directly associated with Operation Swarmer.
As Iraqi Army troops and their Coalition partners continue to clear the objective area northeast of Samarra, enemy caches captured thus far have yielded significant amounts of weapons and IED-making materials.
Included in the finds were the following munitions:
- More than 350 mortar rounds of varying sizes
- 88 rocket propelled grenade rounds
- Nearly 2,000 rounds of armor-piercing rifle ammunition
- More than 15 rockets of varying sizes
- Over 60 hand grenades
- SA-7 surface-to-air missile components, including launcher tubes and batteries
- 30 machine guns and assault rifles
The following items were among the IED-making materials discovered since the operation began:
- More than 500 feet of explosive detonating cord;
- 50 explosive blasting caps;
- 25 130 mm artillery rounds packed with plastic explosive;
- Various remote initiation devices, including cordless phone base stations and washing machine timers.
In addition to the weapons and munitions, terrorist training publications, Iraqi Army uniforms and videos have been recovered. The video footage portrayed U.S. troop locations in Iraq, the rigging and detonation of a car bomb, a suicide bomber and equipment taken from Iraqi Police.
Operation Swarmer is expected to continue for the next 24-48 hours at a minimum as Iraqi and Coalition Forces exploit cache sites and search all structures in the area.
(Above courtesy MNF-I and taken from a MNFI news release)
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