Two Terrorists Killed, 16 Detained In Operations Against al-Qaeda In Iraq

Coalition Forces killed two terrorists and detained 16 suspected terrorists during operations in central and northern Iraq Saturday targeting senior leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq and its bombing networks.

Coalition Forces raided two buildings in Baghdad looking for a senior leader of the car bombing network there. As the ground forces arrived at the target location, a man came out of the building brandishing a weapon. Coalition Forces, responding appropriately to the hostile threat, engaged the man, killing him. Another armed man maneuvered onto the roof of a nearby building, and Coalition Forces engaged the second armed man as well, killing him.

In a related operation, Coalition Forces attacked the car bombing network during a raid in Tarmiyah targeting associates of the al-Qaeda in Iraq emir of the northern belts around Baghdad. The emir has directed car bombing and suicide attacks against Iraqi civilians. Coalition Forces detained six suspected terrorists for their alleged involvement with the network.

In Salah ad Din province, Coalition Forces targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders and their foreign connections. During a raid in Bayji, ground forces captured an alleged weapons and logistics facilitator and one additional suspected terrorist. A precision raid in Tikrit nabbed an individual believed to be a senior al-Qaeda in Iraq operative believed to move large amounts of explosives and foreign terrorists into Iraq.

Iraqi and Coalition Forces detained five suspected terrorists southwest of Kirkuk based on information gained from an operation that killed three foreign terrorists Jun. 23 south of Hawija. The detainees are believed to be associated with senior-level advisers and leaders of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

In Mosul, Coalition Forces detained two suspected terrorists based on information gathered from operations earlier in the week. The two suspects are believed to have ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq senior leaders.

“We are constantly assaulting the al-Qaeda in Iraq network, from the highest levels of leadership to the operatives who carry out attacks,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, MNF-I spokesperson. “We will continue to target them until the people of Iraq can forge their own future without the threat of vicious and indiscriminate attacks.”

(From press release #A070818a by MNF-I, Press Desk, Baghdad, Iraq)