"Dedicated to exposing the lies and impeachable offenses of George W. Bush"



September Weapons Haul in Baghdad Largest Since May
American Forces Press Service
October 6, 2006

WASHINGTON, Oct. 6, 2005 – Iraqi and coalition troops operating in and around Baghdad seized 31 weapons caches in September, constituting the largest monthly haul of ordnance in that area since May, when 54 caches were uncovered, military officials reported.

Coalition forces patrolling Baghdad's Radwiniyah district on Sept. 28 were approached by an Iraqi citizen who told the soldiers about a large weapons cache. The soldiers found 175 sticks of dynamite, 109 grenades, 149 rockets, mortar and artillery rounds, two rocket launchers, 46 anti-personnel mines and 20 pounds of TNT.

U.S. soldiers acting on a tip from another Iraqi citizen seized a weapons cache hidden in western Baghdad on Sept. 25. The soldiers, from Company B, 1st Battalion, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, collected 85 mortar rounds, 14 rockets, two artillery rounds, and three mortar tubes.

The cache also contained eight rocket-propelled-grenade launchers with 144 RPGs and 30 RPG chargers, three anti-tank weapons, 20 hand grenades, bomb-making materials, two machine guns, two assault rifles, and 75 pounds of ammunition.

Another Iraqi tipster helped Iraqi army soldiers seize two terror suspects and an anti-Iraqi forces weapons cache during a Sept. 24 operation in Baghdad. That weapons cache contained 84 mortar rounds and one mortar tube, five rockets, three RPG launchers with 18 RPGs, and a bag of small-arms ammunition.

Iraqi police and U.S. soldiers patrolling the Mansour district of central Baghdad on Sept. 21 found a cache of weapons after coming under fire from terrorists hiding in a building. The Iraqis stormed the building and found 35 mortar rounds and rockets, one mortar tube, 27 rocket-propelled grenades, three roadside bombs, and five cell phones. Iraqi forces killed five terrorists during the firefight.

On Sept. 17, U.S. soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, 48th Brigade Combat Team, patrolling in the Radwiniyah area of western Baghdad found one of the largest caches of the month after local citizens told them about a field of buried weapons.

The unit uncovered the cache, then expanded the search and found two more stockpiles of weapons and ammunition in the same area. The two caches contained 63 RPG rounds, 23 RPG motors, 904 RPG fuses and primers, 33 rockets, 35 mortar rounds, two mortar firing tubes, 80 mortar fuses, and five crates of TNT. One terror suspect was captured at the site and taken into custody for questioning.

(From a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)

Commentary: