Well now, has it been 10 roll-ups already. As hard as it is to keep up with these, they’ve become probably the second favorite thing to the readers of this site (after the Chris-isms). I get a lot of emails when I publish these which keeps me motivated to keep looking for the information. I think that showing people that we’re finding and confiscating more IEDs and IED making materials than we hear about blowing up is very important. The media doesn’t do a very good job of balancing our successes against IEDs when speaking about one killing or injuring people. I also highlight the fact that Iraqis (whom the media want us to believe completely hate us) are largely responsible for these finds. So, with that unspoken mandate, I give you this week’s IED Roll-Up:

December 28 – Troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army discovered dynamite and a pair of night-vision goggles in a raid north of Ad Dawr. The patrol apprehended a local man at the target location of the raid where the dynamite and goggles were found.

December 29 – Iraqi Army troops from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division apprehended four men after an improvised explosive device attack. The men were seen running from the scene of an IED attack on a U.S. tank. The soldiers followed them into an abandoned building and captured them. When the area where the suspects were found was searched, they found wire consistent with wire used in the IED.

January 1 – Elements of the 1st and 5th Battalions, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force and Coalition forces were led to two improvised explosive devices that hadn’t been assembled but were in place in Kirkuk. A source led the soldiers to the IEDs, located in a culvert along a supply route. The source then led the troops to a nearby village and identified five individuals associated with emplacing them.

January 2 – During a planned cordon and search, Iraqi soldiers found and secured two improvised explosive devices before they could be used against civilians or Coalition forces. In addition to the two IEDs, Iraqi soldiers detained a total of six people who may have been involved with roadside bombs or connected to other terrorist activities.

January 2 – Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force and Coalition forces on a foot patrol were led to a weapons cache by local residents north of Sa’Dah. The cache was buried under a trash pile and contained four 82 mm high-explosive mortar rounds, four 120 mm rounds, six 122 mm artillery rounds, two 130 mm artillery rounds, two 160 mm artillery rounds, one 115 mm tank round, four 107 mm rockets, one 122 mm rocket, 15 rocket-propelled grenade boosters, four pressure plate triggers, a 120 mm mortar tube and bipod, a roll of electrical fi ring wire, a Nokia cell phone, two blasting caps and a half pound of plastic explosive. The mortar tube and pressure plate triggers were returned to camp and the cache was destroyed with no injuries or damages reported.

January 3 – Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division and Coalition troops were tipped off to a possible weapons cache west of Samarra. The troops found a cache containing 10 122 mm artillery rounds, two pistols, one rocket-propelled grenade and 10 AK-47 magazines.

January 5 – Iraqi police raided the home of a bombing suspect and seized a large cache of weapons in Kirkuk. Acting on a tip, police officers moved to the location and quickly discovered 100 artillery rounds, 30 pounds of plastic explosives, hand grenades, blasting caps, a rocket and nearly $1,000 in U.S. and Iraqi currency.

January 6 – Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force and coalition forces discovered a buried weapons cache north of Sadah. The cache contained two 60 mm mortar tubes, two improvised 57 mm rocket launchers, five 115 mm tank rounds, one 100 mm tank round, one 152 mm artillery round, one 130 mm artillery round, two 122 mm artillery rounds, 91 82 mm mortar rounds, 37 60 mm high-explosive mortar rounds, one 107 mm rocket, one 57 mm rocket, mortar and rocket fuses, four cordless and cell phones, a gas mask and timers. The contraband ordnance was destroyed.

January 6 – Iraqi troops from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition forces found a weapons cache in Cycla. The cache contained two 53 mm rockets and one 105 mm artillery shell. The weapons were destroyed. Iraqi police in Kirkuk found a weapons cache after a tip led them to an individual suspected of possessing dynamite and hand grenades. The Qoria and Domies police raided the man’s house and found 100 high-explosive artillery rounds, five hand grenades, a Katyusha rocket, 30 pounds of plastic explosive, two blasting caps, $860, 147,000 Iraqi dinars and a notebook containing more than 140 names. The suspect was detained and the Iraqi police confiscated the ordnance for disposal.

And, while you were celebrating the new year, this is what YOUR military has been doing to spread freedom around the world. For past IED Roll-Ups, just click the “IED Roll-Ups” link under the title to this post.