MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ
PRESS DESK
BAGHDAD, Iraq
http://www.mnf-iraq.com
703.343.8790

Press Release A080823a-293
August 23, 2008

Coalition forces target al-Qaeda leaders, bombers (Baghdad)
BAGHDAD – Coalition forces detained 13 suspected terrorists while targeting al-Qaeda in Iraq bombing and leadership networks around Iraq Friday and Saturday.

Information from an operation Aug. 5 led Coalition forces to a wanted man in Sharqat, about 90 km south of Mosul. Intelligence reports indicate the wanted man, who was captured during the Saturday operation, transports weapons and explosives for AQI and may be affiliated with AQI leaders in Kirkuk.

Saturday in Baghdad, Coalition forces detained three suspected terrorists, one of whom is allegedly associated with AQI senior leaders who are involved with suicide bombings. A precision operation in the city netted a wanted man believed to conspire with AQI senior leaders in the capital.

Coalition forces detained four suspects Saturday in Bayji, about 160 km south of Mosul, while targeting associates of AQI leaders who are reportedly planning attacks using poison. Using information from an operation May 27, Coalition forces targeted and captured a suspected bombing cell leader Friday in Bayji. The cell is part of a bombing network in the Tigris River Valley that targets Coalition and Iraqi security forces. The forces discovered body armor and military-style equipment on site, and detained one additional suspect.

Two suspects were detained in Mosul during a Friday operation targeting a senior AQI liaison within the terrorist network.

“Al-Qaeda in Iraq will face a continuous assault from all sides,” said Maj. John C. Hall, MNF-I spokesman.

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