Cavalry Unit Makes Big Find in Southern Baghdad
Baghdad, Iraq -All companies of 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, along with elements in the 2nd Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, conducted a large scale cordon and search in the southern outskirts of Baghdad Oct. 14.
A significant weapons cache was found in the Marine sector in the southern-most portion of the operation. There, Soldiers and Marines found ten 500-pound bombs, 100 mortar rounds, seven rocket-propelled grenades, and a sundry of small arms and other explosives.
Forty individuals were detained during the raid. Many of the 18 intended target individuals were found, while others were primarily taken into custody for questioning, he said.
The 12-hour operation spanned over five cordoned sections within a 15 kilometer area along the Tigris River. The mission, named Operation Mustang Socko, sought terrorists and weapons in this rural sector, mainly populated by members of the former regime.
To find these weapons caches, Soldiers used metal detectors and patrolled by foot through fields and palm groves during daylight hours. Troops from the 67th Combat Engineer Battalion assisted the searches with bomb-sniffing dogs to locate hidden weapons. Many areas were searched, but no finds were as significant as the cache found in the Marine sector.
While finding weapons helps hinder future attacks on Iraqi forces, the intelligence gathered during the operation is key to developing more targets in the terrorist networks.
Release #041022c
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