Military

Coalition Forces Kill 3 Suspected Terrorists, Detain 16 in Iraq Raids

By VOA News
01 March 2007

The U.S. military says coalition forces have killed three suspected terrorists and detained 16 suspects in operations in Iraq Thursday.

The military says the raids targeted al-Qaida in Iraq and occurred west of Ramadi and south of Baghdad.

The military also announced Thursday that American and Iraqi troops killed 10 insurgents and detained five suspects Monday in Diyala province, northeast of Baghdad.

The military says items found during the operation include 50 rocket-propelled grenades, bomb-making material, rockets and explosives.

The military says troops in raids Monday and Tuesday in Baquba found a car bomb, TNT, propane tanks and other bomb-making material, as well as a complete mortar system and a recoilless rifle and 150 rounds.

In news from the Iraqi capital Thursday, police say a roadside bomb killed one person.

Iraq is to host a security conference next week in Baghdad that will include Iraq's neighbors and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council (the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China).

The U.S. military also announced Thursday that a U.S. helicopter in northern Iraq made a "hard landing" that injured two pilots.

The military says preliminary reporting shows that the cause of the hard landing was mechanical and not hostile fire.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.