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Iraqi Army, U.S. Special Forces detain 102 in raid

February 16, 2006

BALAD, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 16, 2006) -- Assaults on two targets Feb. 12 in Diyala Province resulted in the discovery of a large weapons cache after two insurgents were killed and 102 suspects detained.

The assaults began as combined cordon and search missions by the 2nd Battalion 2nd Brigade 5th Iraqi Army Division, advised by U.S. Army Special Forces. The operations were designed to capture key insurgents, officials said, and to disrupt multiple insurgent-cell operations – especially improvised-explosive-device production.

The target locations were chosen after intelligence indicated the specific locations of individuals wanted for planning and facilitating insurgent activities, officials said.

< Safe raids>

During the raid on the first target, an Iraqi Army assault team encountered four armed insurgents when the team began searching a house. Under heavy fire, the assault team exchanged small arms fire with the insurgents, but was forced to withdraw outside of the house for cover.

One of the team’s sergeants stayed in the house and in the fight, killing one and wounding two of the insurgents before falling back to regroup with his team and assault the house again.

The three insurgents were taken into custody and the two wounded received immediate medical treatment. One wounded insurgent later died while en route to receive additional medical care, officials said.

Capturing Iraqi’s `most wanted’

Of the 102 persons detained after the raids on both target areas, 25 were on Iraqi security forces’ “most wanted” lists.

A weapons cache discovered on the first objective contained one Katusa rocket, two 155 mm artillery rounds, two 120 mm mortar rounds, three 60 mm mortar rounds, three rocket-propelled grenades, an RPG launcher, three AK-47 assault rifles, and a collection of IED-making materials including electrical wire and fuses.

One Iraqi Army Soldier was slightly wounded by enemy small arms fire during the operation. He was treated on the scene by Iraqi and U.S. medical personnel.

Iraqi commanders said that the combined operation was a success, and is a mark of the effectiveness of Iraqi Army forces. They are looking forward to conducting additional missions in the future to deny insurgent groups safe havens in Diyala Province, which insurgents use to regroup, rearm and refit.

Additionally, leaders from the Iraqi battalion used the operation to assess the capabilities of the 2/2/5 in order to make needs-based assessments on future training opportunities.

Special Operations Forces from the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Arabian Peninsula are involved throughout Iraq in training and advising Iraqi security forces, including army and police units.