It’s that time of week again (actually I’m late): the IED roll-up. Before I begin, I want to mention another success story that may have gone unnoticed.

I don’t watch TV, so I don’t know what kind of press coverage this is getting, but the Iraqis have recently received 77 tanks and 36 BMP (infantry fighting vehicles) that were donated by NATO nations. The vehicles were refurbished into practically brand new conditions and were paraded for all to see on Nov. 17. Again, I’ll have pictures later tonight (boy, I’m going to be busy). Iraqi NCOs have also taken over many responsibilities for training new recruits at many training centers in Iraq, something we have been doing up until now. Yet, ANOTHER unnoticed success.

Now, on to the IEDs:

Before I begin, there’s an IED-related story that should help with our counter-IED efforts. Iraq has increased
the reward amount for information leading to the capture of individuals involved in the production and/or utilization of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) through the Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I) Small Rewards Review Board. Under this program, the review board can authorize payment of up to $10,000.

November 12 - Iraqi Army troops from the 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force and Coalition forces discovered and confiscated a weapons cache in southeastern Fallujah. The cache consisted of four 106mm rounds, one 120mm mortar round, one 155mm artillery round and a bucket of primers.

November 14 - Not a total success, but…Iraqi soldiers detained a man on a motorcycle as he tried to flee the scene of a deadly attack on an Iraqi Army convoy. The man is believed to have detonated an improvised explosive device (IED) that hit a convoy of the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force Division, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding three others. The four-vehicle convoy was about three and a half miles north of Fallujah when the IED went off from the median of Route Mobile. A motorcycle was seen parked on the side of the road before the blast. When a man attempted to ride away on it shortly after the detonation, Iraqi soldiers stopped and detained him. The man is being held for further questioning.

November 15 - Alert neighborhood watch members in east Baghdad stopped a potential car bomb attack. Local residents noticed a suspicious vehicle getting fuel from a roadside gasoline dealer shortly before 6 p.m. When the neighborhood watch members approached the driver, he pointed a pistol at them and attempted to flee. The citizens were unable to stop the man before he escaped in a taxi after attempting to highjack another vehicle. The taxi driver returned to the scene after dropping the man off in an east Baghdad neighborhood. The driver said the man called a relative on his cell phone and told him the operation failed. Iraqi Police secured the scene and interviewed the taxi driver. An Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal team discovered the vehicle wired with five 155mm artillery rounds and other explosives in the truck and doors.

November 16 - Iraqi and Coalition forces working a joint operation detained three suspected insurgents with a number of munitions. The men had one 60mm mortar tube, two 81mm mortar rounds, one 115mm round and a fire extinguisher packed with explosives. The men are being detained pending further questioning.

November 16 – Again, not a complete success, but…Iraqi Army soldiers detained two men during a search for suspects from an improvised explosive device attack that knocked over a power line tower about 10 kilometers south of Samarra. Soldiers with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division reported seeing a suspicious vehicle fleeing the scene of the blast, but lost contact with it. A patrol conducting a search of nearby homes detained two men who were acting suspiciously for more questioning.

November 17 - Soldiers responding to a report of a possible roadside bomb found a suitcase with wires protruding from it. The soldiers secured the area and called in an Iraqi explosive ordnance disposal team, which dismantled the device. A later investigation revealed a bag containing munitions inside the suitcase. It was rigged to detonate with a cigarette lighter attached to a battery.

As an addition, here’s an article released today of a MAJOR find with respect to IEDs. “The find included 17 82 mm mortar rounds, an anti-tank mine, a 155 mm artillery round, 300 rounds of 9 mm ammunition, a sniper rifle, 750 rounds of sniper ammunition, four sets of civilian night-vision goggles, several Iraqi Republican Guard uniforms, two submachine-guns with silencers, five submachine-gun magazines, six various frequency radios, 29 61 mm mortar rounds, a 105 mm artillery round, a light anti-tank rocket, 24 blocks of C4 explosives, 200 machine-gun rounds, a video camera, 12 mortar fuses, 14 artillery fuses, 20 hand grenade fuses, 23 rocket-propelled grenades, a Russian RPK rifle, 80 two-way radios, a laser range finder, 425 feet of detonation chord, 200 feet of electrical cable, 208 blasting caps, 30 Chinese hand grenades and five gas masks.”