39th Nabs Recruiter, Mortar Team Cell Leader
Camp Tajai, Iraq - An Oct. 18 raid launched by Company C, 3rd Battalion, 153rd Infantry Regiment of the 39th Brigade Combat Team netted a suspected cell leader and recruiter for anti-Iraqi mortar teams in eastern Baghdad.
The company claims the individual was the brains behind nearly 200 mortars targeting their one-and-a-half-acre compound since their arrival in Baghdad in April.
Platoon Sgt. Robert Fisher, 37, of Carlisle, Ark., said the man was difficult to find because he frequently moved to avoid capture.
"He had several places he lived," said Fisher. "He didn't stay in one spot."
The suspect was purported to have dwellings in Fallujah, Ah Damyia, and Rusafa, the last two being neighborhoods in Baghdad - Iraq's capital of over seven million people.
The Arkansas-based Company C has destroyed three mortar teams over the past several months. The individual captured on this particular mission is reportedly responsible for recruiting those and other teams from Fallujah.
"He was bringing other teams in from Fallujah in order to hit us simultaneously with mortars from two different locations," Fisher said. "He was the brain bringing them in and firing us up."
Upon searching the suspect's house, Soldiers found a mortar tube, mortar plate and bomb making material used to create roadside improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Next to mortar attacks, IEDs are one of the most common methods used by insurgents to kill or injure American troops in Iraq.
Soldiers say the individual cooperated with officials, giving names and locations of mortar team members underneath him in hopes of an easier sentence from tribunal military courts.
"We tell them that if they cooperate, it will make their sentence easier," Fisher said. "We tell them we're not here to hurt them."
The raiding party - on their fourth combat mission in two days - searched the house without resistance. Soldiers were in and out within 20 minutes giving no time for a counterattack by insurgents.
"I do like to get the bad guy," Fisher said.
Despite the capture of a suspected cell leader, the Soldiers stopped short of claiming victory.
"It was a relief to know we got the main cell leader but there are still mortar teams out there in our sector," said Fisher. "The threat is still there."
Release #041018n
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