NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WRAP-UP OF 4TH ID’S ACTIVITIES

TIKRIT, Iraq – In Dibis, 173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers discovered an ammunition cache during the evening of Jan.2. The cache appeared to have been at the location since before Operation Iraqi Freedom began and consisted of 163 60-millimeter mortar rounds, 17 hand grenades and 17 flares. All the munitions were secured and are scheduled for future destruction by an explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) team.

Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment raided a building south of Balad in the early morning of Jan. 3, targeting former regime elements suspected of attacking a forward operating base with mortars. As the soldiers approached the building two men armed with AK-47 assault rifles aimed their weapons at the patrol. Soldiers took a defensive posture and responded to the threat by firing at the armed men, killing them both. The patrol continued with the mission and captured 11 individuals and located and confiscated 30 AK-47 assault rifles at the site.

173rd Airborne Brigade soldiers killed a suspected criminal who was the target of a Jan. 3 dawn raid in Mastul as he came at the patrol with an AK-47 assault rifle. Soldiers took defensive positions and fired at the armed man after he attempted to fire his weapon at the soldiers. Following the confrontation soldiers continued the raid, capturing five enemy individuals and locating four AK-47 assault rifles.

Working with Iraqi National Police, soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade searched a KDP building in Kirkuk in the morning of Jan. 3 and found numerous weapons. The confiscated items included two rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, two AK-47 assault rifles, one SVD automatic weapon and two 107-millimeter rockets. A senior KDP official was detained. The soldiers and police continued their search at an adjacent PUK building. They located and confiscated one AK-47 assault rifle and five RPGs.

In another incident illustrating police and soldier cooperation, Kirkuk police Jan. 3 turned over a person targeted by the 173rd Airborne Brigade. The individual was a colonel in the former regime’s military.

Arrowhead Brigade soldiers searched a number of locations during the afternoon of Jan. 3, five kilometers northeast of Ad Duluiyah and discovered weapons and ammunition. The confiscated items included three AK-47 assault rifles, one rifle, one SKS automatic weapon and a small amount of AK-47 ammunition.