4th ID captured 73 insurgents, their leader, and a bunch of munitions


Ranking insurgent captured in Iraq raid
Coalition officials say operation nets 74 Iraqis in Samarra

TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) --U.S. troops captured what the military calls a "high-value target" and 73 other Iraqis during a massive raid early Tuesday in the north-central Iraqi town of Samarra, coalition officials said.

Officials said the high-value target was captured at his home, where he was apparently having a meeting. All 74 Iraqis were captured at the house in Samarra, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of Tikrit, officials said. The suspects were young men of military age, and no women were present, officials said.

Coalition officials described the top man as a midlevel official, a member of the paramilitary group Fedayeen Saddam and a financier of attacks on coalition troops. Officials said they believe he can lead them to some insurgents involved in the attacks.

Coalition officials also said they found 135 pounds of explosives, several mortar rounds, 15 AK-47s, 200 blasting caps and other ammunition and paraphernalia similar to those used in attacks against coalition troops.

U.S. troops have fought off ambushes in Samarra twice this month -- on December 1, when the military said troops killed 54 Iraqis, and Monday, when they killed 11 attackers.

Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad, said that Saddam Hussein's arrest Saturday could help U.S. forces search for Iraqi insurgents.

Dempsey said that while Saddam apparently was not directing the attacks on coalition forces, some insurgents did report to him "on the chance that some day he might be able to once again be their patron."

Documents found with Saddam already have provided useful information, officials in Washington said. Dempsey said that within 24 hours of the capture, troops had arrested "some high-level former Baath leaders" connected with financing the insurgency, based on names found in the documents.

However, a senior official in Washington said the arrests were "not high-level people but cell members further down," adding that some information has been "actionable" intelligence that may save the lives of U.S. soldiers.

U.S. forces are continuing to search for a number of high-ranking members of Saddam's former regime, including Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, No. 6 on the list of the 55 most-wanted Iraqis and the highest-ranking member still at large.
www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/16/sprj.irq.main/index.html

they found 15 AKs? ... 74 Iraqis?

...When HE dies, YOU pick up a rifle....

How 'bout a running body count of "us" vs "them?" I also wonder if those french bastard journalists "embedded" with the insurgents could be "coaxed" for some intel.

PS I just realized that "french" and "bastard" are synonyms.

I thought French and Pussy were synonyms...


-HS


I read this story earlier.....good score...



-HS

They are - a word can have many synonyms... French and idiot are another...

Then there are the antinyms:
French and honest
French and honorable
French and intelligent

Oh, I could go on, but I better not [;)]

And then there are Frog Legs Usually 'French' Fried... hmmm... taste like chicken ... or so I'm told...

Looks like [b]El Coward al Tikriti[/b] could be singing like a canary.

WAY TO GO!!!!!


and yes,15 AK's to 74 Iraqis sounds funny too.

But the 135 pounds of explosvies, 200 blasting caps and the stock of old mortar bombs on the other hand sounds just right...

Body count = Bad metric

They can make more of themselves faster than we can if they want to.