BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqi Police river units conduct a joint mission with members of the a quick reaction force from the 101st Airborne Division. They searched small islands for weapons caches and insurgent transportation routes along the Tigris River Wednesday April 5, 2006.

Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers discovered a weapons cache on an island in the Euphrates River April 5.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division discovered fused 82 mm and 120 mm rounds, 600 mortar casings, fused rocket-propelled grenades, more than two-dozen 50-gallon drums of unidentified explosive powder, eight bags of unidentified yellowish powder and 5,000 AK-47 rounds.

An explosive ordnance disposal team took control of the cache.

Attacks down

Operations like these are having a direct impact on security in Baghdad.

“We’ve had significant effect against terrorists and foreign fighters trying to infiltrate into Baghdad through the Euphrates River valley,” said Multi-National Force - Iraq Spokesman Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch in his weekly press conference from Baghdad April 6. “Last July, we were averaging 50 suicide attacks per month. Now, the first three months of this year we’re averaging 24 -- less than half.”

One of the operations contributing to the significant fall in attack numbers is Operation Scales of Justice, which has fortified security forces in Baghdad.

“Scales of Justice will continue until the unity government is formed,” said Lynch. “The operation added approximately 3,700 troops to forces in Baghdad, and allows up to 91 patrols in Baghdad streets at any given time. Sixty-percent of those patrols are Iraqi security forces led.

One MND-B patrol detained six men suspected of a murder that took place in southeastern Baghdad April 3. The Soldiers from the 506th Infantry Regiment were on a routine patrol when they stopped a suspicious vehicle.

“There were six guys crammed in a small sedan, and it was apparent they were trying to conceal something,” said Capt. Chad Collins, platoon leader, 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment. “We decided to stop the vehicle and do a cursory search when my Soldiers saw the weapons.”

The men were carrying loaded weapons including an AK-47 rifle with blood stains on the folding stock, an Iranian G3 rifle, and two blood-stained 9 mm pistols. Some of the men also appeared to have blood on their hands and clothing.

A radio check with the national tip hotline revealed the vehicle’s license number had been reported in several criminal activities. The platoon set up security, preserved the evidence and communicated with the suspects through an interpreter.”

“These guys had blood on their hands, and I’m glad we got them off the streets,” said Spc. Noah Sidonio, platoon medic. “Everything went by the book. None of the men were hurt or complaining of injuries, so the blood wasn’t theirs.”

Witnesses later confirmed the detained men had shot and killed an Iraqi in Jisr Diyala earlier in the day. The incident is under investigation by Iraqi authorities.

Regular Iraqi citizens continue to offer tips and actionable intelligence all over the country. In the northern city of Mosul, an Iraqi citizen informed members of the Iraqi Army of the location of kidnapping victims. Iraqi Army and Police conducted a combined raid on the house and found three hostages chained in the basement.

In western Iraq, attacks are also down, as Iraqi and Coalition Forces continue to capture foreign fighters and their weapons.

“Last fall, in al Anbar we were averaging 29 attacks a day,” said Lynch. “Now, we’re averaging 19. Yesterday, (April 5) there were 17 attacks against Iraqi civilians, Iraqi security forces and Coalition Forces, and of those 17 attacks, only two were effective (resulted in casualties).” He said nearly half of the known improvised explosive devices emplaced throughout Iraq are being found and cleared before than can cause injury.

In a radio interview April 5 U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld put the progress in Iraq into perspective:

“Think of the number of homicides that occur in the United States every week,” said Secretary Rumsfeld, when asked about violent crime numbers in Iraq. “So [the violence in Iraq] is a mixture of common criminals, sectarian violence and terrorists, and terrorist activities that are designed to incite sectarian violence.

It is a part of the world that has been violent in the past, is likely to be violent in the future. But the wonderful thing about it is the Iraqi security forces now number some 241,000 people and they're trained and equipped and they're out providing an enormous fraction of the security in that country right now.”

(Compiled from official Defense Department sources)