1st Marine Division Supports Iraqi Security Force Raids on Local Mosques
Camp Blue Diamond, Iraq - Iraqi Security Forces, supported by Marines and Soldiers from the 1st Marine Division, began a series of raids on seven mosques in Ramadi today.
"Our participation in these raids has been limited to supporting Iraqi Security Forces," said BGen. Joseph F. Dunford, Assistant Division Commander, 1st Marine Division.
The mosques are suspected of participating in a spectrum of insurgent activity, including harboring known terrorists, storing illegal weapons caches, promoting violence against the Iraqi people and encouraging insurgent recruitment.
The raids are an effort to search the mosques for known terrorists and insurgents, illegal weapons caches and insurgent propaganda.
The use of mosques as a safe haven by insurgents takes advantage of Multi-National Force-Iraq's respect for holy sites. Mosques are granted protective status unless they are being used for militant purposes. At that time, they lose their protective status as places of religious worship.
Great care was taken to minimize the risks to noncombatants and avoid collateral damage. The Marines and Soldiers of 1st Marine Division are committed to assisting Iraqi Security Forces in providing security to Iraqi people.
Release #041012e
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