WEBCommentary Contributor

Author: Jim Kouri
Date:  August 23, 2008

Topic category:  Other/General

Troops Capture Suspected Hezbollah Associates in Baghdad

by Jim Kouri, CPP

Coalition forces picked up two suspected associates of the Kataib Hezbollah criminal network during operations this morning in Baghdad's New Baghdad district, military officials reported during a teleconference with bloggers and Internet journalists.

Acting on intelligence tips, coalition forces raided the home of a suspected Kataib Hezbollah propaganda expert who is believed to have uploaded more than 30 attack videos to the criminal ring's now-defunct Web site. Coalition forces entered the house, where they detained two of the wanted man's brothers, who are believed to be involved in his criminal enterprises.

Coalition forces have detained more than 15 suspected members of Kataib Hezbollah in the last two months, officials said. Kataib Hezbollah is reported to receive funding, logistics, and weapons such as improvised rocket-assisted mortars from Iran. The group also is believed to receive guidance or direction from the Quds Force of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In other operations today and yesterday, coalition forces in Iraq detained 16 suspected terrorists in the central and northern parts of the country.

An alleged weapons facilitator in Mosul is in coalition custody after forces captured him and six additional suspects today. The wanted man allegedly stores explosives for terrorist attacks and delivers weapons to foreign terrorists and suicide bombers. He also is assessed to have ties to al-Qaida senior leaders in Mosul, officials said.

Coalition forces captured a wanted man and three additional suspects today in Beiji, about 160 kilometers south of Mosul. The wanted man is suspected of directly conspiring with al-Qaida leaders to plan an attack using poison.

In Suwayrah, about 50 kilometers south of Baghdad, coalition forces detained a suspect today while targeting a man involved in the al-Qaida in Iraq propaganda network. An operation yesterday in Mosul targeted the same network and netted four suspected terrorists.

In operations Aug. 20, Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers detained suspected Iranian-backed "special groups" leaders, and Iraqi security forces dismantled a homemade booby trap in southern Baghdad's Rashid district.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, detained a suspected terrorist linked to attacks using improvised explosive devices and suicide vests in Baghdad.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, working on actionable intelligence, arrested a suspected special groups criminal in West Rashid's Hadar neighborhood.

Meanwhile, in southwestern Baghdad's Risalah community, Iraqi National Police discovered a homemade booby trap. The police immediately dismantled the bomb and confiscated the bomb-making materials. The police moved the munitions to a combat outpost for temporary storage and notified an explosives ordnance disposal team.

Jim Kouri
Chief of Police Magazine (Contributing Editor)


Biography - Jim Kouri

Jim Kouri, CPP is currently fifth vice-president of the National Association of Chiefs of Police. He's former chief at a New York City housing project in Washington Heights nicknamed "Crack City" by reporters covering the drug war in the 1980s. In addition, he served as director of public safety at a New Jersey university and director of security for a number of organizations. He's also served on the National Drug Task Force and trained police and security officers throughout the country. He writes for many police and crime magazines including Chief of Police, Police Times, The Narc Officer, Campus Law Enforcement Journal, and others. He's appeared as on-air commentator for over 100 TV and radio news and talk shows including Oprah, McLaughlin Report, CNN Headline News, MTV, Fox News, etc. His book Assume The Position is available at Amazon.Com, Booksamillion.com, and can be ordered at local bookstores. Kouri holds a bachelor of science in criminal justice and master of arts in public administration and he's a board certified protection professional.


Copyright © 2008 by Jim Kouri
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