Iraqis provide crucial tips on enemy operations

MNFI:

Iraqi Army and Coalition Forces conducted a joint raid, discovering a large factory used to make home-made explosives, improvised explosive devices and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices Saturday, in Mosul, Iraq.

Soldiers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 4th Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army, and Soldiers from 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry conducted the raid after receiving a tip on the location of the factory. The factory consisted of three main sites where each of the HME, IED and VBIEDs were manufactured.

“The successful raid and subsequent discovery was due in large part to the cooperation of the Iraqi people,” said Col. Stephen Twitty, commander, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division. “They are providing us information because they are obviously tired of the violence and desire a safer environment for their families.”

The site consisted of three separate buildings with one building used to prepare VBIEDs, a second used as an HME/IED factory and the third, a storage area for VBIED and IED-making materials. Each of these buildings was connected by a tunnel that had openings into each part of the structure.

VBIED and IED factories were also found at the second and third sites. IA and CF detained 32 suspects and discovered several vehicles, one being a truck originating from southern Iraq, which was being prepared for use as a VBIED. Also in the buildings was detonation cord, bags of HME, propane tanks and other IED making materials.

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Then there was this tip:

A large cache of mortars and improvised explosive device-making material was revealed by members of a “neighborhood watch” to the Iraqi Army June 22.

During a foot patrol, members of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 9th Iraqi Army Division (Mechanized) received a tip from volunteers participating as a part of a neighborhood watch in Falahat, a village in Taji. On arrival at the location given in the tip, the Iraqi troops uncovered the buried cache.

The cache contained 39 mortar rounds, 30 pounds of high-explosive, a landmine, and an assortment of other material used to make IEDs. The items were transported to Camp Taji for proper disposal.

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The tip line is a much more important metric of the success of our operations in Iraq than the violence metric used by the media. When people are disclosing enemy activity that is a pretty strong sign that the enemy has lost the hearts and mind battle.