More details on Sunday raid

MNFI:

As reports from media continued to focus on an Iraqi Special Operations raid in Adhamiyah, Coalition Forces emphasized that no forces entered or damaged any mosque in the Sunday actions.

Soldiers from the 1st and 2nd Battalions, 1st Iraqi Special Operations Forces Brigade, conducted a coordinated operation in northeast Baghdad Sunday to capture and detain insurgents responsible for kidnapping and execution activities.

“The building complex that was attacked was blocks away from the Mustafa Mosque,” said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commanding general, Multi-National Corps - Iraq . “This operation was led by Iraqis who confirmed that this was not a mosque, and at no time did they enter any mosque or damage a mosque in any way.”

Iraqi Commandos and Soldiers from the Iraqi Counterterrorism Force killed 16 insurgents and wounded three others during a house-to-house search on an objective with multiple structures. They also detained 18 other individuals, discovered a significant weapons cache and secured the release of an Iraqi being held hostage.

“The Iraqi Special Operations Forces came under intense fire from several buildings in the compound before they even left their vehicles,” said Maj. Gen. J.D. Thurman, commanding general, Multi-National Division - Baghdad. “There was a great deal of intelligence gathered on this cell. We knew there was a kidnapping ring operating from the complex. This was a well planned and well executed operation,” said Thurman.

The security force of ISOF soldiers received fire almost immediately from several buildings near the target area. They maintained the outer perimeter that enabled an assault force to move quickly to clear and secure the objective, a compound of several buildings in the Adhamiyah neighborhood in northeast Baghdad.

The weapons cache discovered on the objective included 32 AK-47 assault rifles, five grenades, four rocket-propelled grenades, two RPG launchers, two RPK heavy machine guns, 12 crush switch indicators used to make improvised explosive devices and ammunition. The cache was destroyed on the scene along with two vehicles that contained weapons and IED making material.

The hostage, a dental technician with the Ministry of Health, was kidnapped earlier Sunday as he was walking outside of his office. During the next 12 hours, his captors beat him and threatened to torture him. After ISOF soldiers rescued him, they took him to an undisclosed location where he received medical care from Iraqi doctors. No further information on his condition is available at this time.

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They need to produce this hostage to the media to explain who was responsible for taking him and what he saw when he was rescued.