A Soldier's Perspective

IED Roll-Up #21

This is coming up quick because I took too long for the last one. This will get me back on track. I'd make my usual comments about some people trying to downplay the successes, but I don't want to use "lunatic logic" or whatever it's called. Darn it, I just did it.

April 2 – Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops detained three suspects and found a weapons cache near Karabilah. Troops caught and arrested two people suspected of insurgent activities and detained one person who was on a suspect list. The cache was found during a cordon operation northeast of Karabilah and contained materials to make suicide vests. The detainees and cache were turned over to authorities for further investigation.

April 2 – Soldiers from the 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops found and seized a weapons cache near Hit. The cache contained 20 pounds of crushed illumination candle mixture, 11 hand grenades, 28 rocket-propelled grenade launch motors, eight RPGs, two RPG launchers, five sticks of plastic explosive, 31 quarter-blocks of TNT, 48 68 mm mortar rounds and six AK-47 rifles amongst a wide variety of ordnance components and bomb-making materials. The cache contents were taken into custody for further disposition.

April 3 – Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops detained five suspects and discovered a weapons cache while patrolling. The military-aged males were arrested for suspected insurgent activities. The cache contained three AK-47 rifles with 16 full magazines, a bag of detonation cord, blasting caps and two rocket-propelled grenade boosters. More than 300 rounds of loose 7.62 mm ammunition was also recovered. The detainees and cache were turned over to authorities for further investigation.

April 3 – Soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division discovered and cleared a cache found during a raid in southeast Ramadi. The cache contained seven assorted mortar rounds, several hand-held radios, some artillery detonators and one sniper scope. The cache was turned over to authorities for further investigation. No injuries or damages were reported.

April 4 – Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops detained one person and found a cache while on patrol in Hit. Troops detained the military-aged man for suspected insurgent activity. The cache produced one Dragonov sniper rifl e, one sub machine gun, one propane tank fi lled with black powder, a British-made smoke generator, 1,000 rounds of 25 mm ammunition and an assortment of artillery rounds, blasting caps and other bomb-making components. The detainee and the cache materials were turned over to authorities for further investigation.

And I want to leave you with a story that hasn't been carried by the media as a major blow to terrorist operations in Iraq. This is proof that the media isn't interested in our major successes in Iraq because: success=less killing=secure Iraq=military withdrawal=Bush is successful=fewer stories. This story was released by the military to the media three days ago. How many have heard about it on their local or national news networks?

Iraqi terrorist leader Muhammed Hila Hammad Ubaydi, aka Abu Ayman, was captured and arrested by Iraqi Security Forces in the Al Mahmudiyah neighborhood of southern Baghdad March 7. Investigators held notice of his capture until April 6, awaiting DNA testing results to confirm his identity. Ayman’s capture was the result of a manhunt conducted by Iraqi intelligence professionals and several Coalition intelligence agencies.

Until his capture, Abu Ayman, the former aide to the Chief of Staff of Intelligence during the Saddam Hussein regime, was the leader of the Secret Islamic Army in the Northern Babil Province. Abu Ayman had strong ties to terror leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, still considered the head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq. Abu Ayman is the prime suspect in the kidnapping of Italian journalist Guiliana Sgrena and for assassination attempts on Iraqi Government and Iraqi Security Forces officials. Abu Ayman is also the prime suspect in the kidnapping and killing of several hostages in Iraq and for committing some of the most lethal bombing attacks on Coalition and Iraqi forces and Iraqi citizens since the fall of the regime.

Iraqi and Coalition forces consider Abu Ayman’s capture significant in their pursuit to lay to rest the terror cells that have caused death and destruction in Iraq. Officials believe Abu Ayman’s capture will not only disrupt some of these attacks, but that his capture will undoubtedly save lives and provide valuable information that will lead to the capture of other terrorists he has worked with in the past. Abu Ayman’s lieutenant Abu Qatada, a Syrian born terrorist who was wanted for multiple bomb attacks, the assassinations of two Iraqi government council members, and the murders of several truck drivers in order to use their trucks in vehicleborne bomb attacks, was captured by Iraqi and Coalition forces Dec. 27 during a raid on his house. He was found hiding in a nearby canal.In the months following his capture, Abu Qatada has provided valuable information on the Abu Ayman terror network.