Military

22 terror suspects taken off streets of Baghdad

By Maj. Alayne Conway
December 6, 2005

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Dec. 6, 2005)–Task Force Baghdad Soldiers captured 24 terror suspects in the Al Rasheed district during a 12-hour period Dec. 3-4.

Launching operations based on tips from Iraqi citizens and intelligence developed over time, Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment conducted three cordon and searches and captured a total of nine individuals. Soldiers from Company A, 184th Inf. detained six individuals in eastern Rasheed Dec. 3 around 11:35 p.m. One of the detainees was a known member of an Al-Qaeda bomb-making cell and another individual is suspected of running safe houses used to smuggle terrorists into Baghdad.

Three hours later, another unit from 1/184 detained a targeted individual in Abu Dischir and another two at daybreak in Dora.

A tipster alerted Soldiers from 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment on the whereabouts of terror suspects operating in western Rasheed. Soldiers conducted a hasty cordon and search and captured two individuals before midnight on Dec. 3.

At about 2:30 a.m., 3/7 Inf. Soldiers conducted another cordon and search in Jihad and captured three individuals.

The battalion also detained another individual in Jihad the night before.

“The operation last night was a huge victory for the locals in Jihad,” said 1st Lt. Reeon Brown, a platoon leader from A Co., 3/7 Inf. who led one of the operations. “This man has spent months killing innocent Iraqis and Iraqi security forces. Now he is off the street thanks to the bravery of one local man. I want to thank him and let the Iraqi people know that they are the most powerful weapons in the fight against terrorists.”

Farther south in the rural areas of Baghdad, Soldiers from 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment were also rounding up terror suspects.

A unit conducting a cordon and search at 1 a.m. on Dec. 4 captured nine individuals.

All of the suspects were taken to military facilities for further questioning.

(Editor’s note: Maj. Alayne Conway serves with 4th Brigade Combat Team PAO.)