Coalition forces targeted al-Qaeda in Iraq operatives and leaders Thursday, killing eight terrorists and detaining 17 suspects during ground operations and an air strike in northern Iraq.
Intelligence confirmed the location of a targeted individual reported to be the al-Qaeda in Iraq – or AQI – leader of a local village operating in a remote area of the Hamrin Mountains southwest of Tuz. The targeted individual and six other armed men were observed conducting suspicious activities in the area. Supporting fixed-wing aircraft were called to conduct an air strike, which killed all seven terrorists.
Coalition forces continued to target the AQI propaganda network, after intelligence reports led a Coalition ground force to a building west of Samarra. When the ground force requested that occupants exit the targeted building, two men exited the building, but refused to follow Coalition forces’ instructions and demonstrated hostile intent. Subsequently, coalition forces engaged one man, killing him. The other man then complied and was detained with nine additional suspected terrorists.
Two operations in the Mosul area targeted associates of AQI leaders. A precision operation in the city yielded the capture of a suspected terrorist believed to be associated with AQI senior leaders in the area. Southwest of Mosul, Coalition forces detained six suspected terrorists during an operation targeting associates of AQI senior leaders.
