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He [Jesus] is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." -Col. 1:17 REPORTER'S NOTE: Though I'm taking a stab in the dark (excuse the pun) with interpreting this article, one thing is certain: these scientists seem to ascribe cognizant, rational attributes to an invisible "force" that is "ruling over" dark matter in the universe. I'll let you read the article and come to your own conclusions! -Teresa Neumann, BCN. Science Daily reports that an international team of astronomers have found an unexpected link between mysterious 'dark matter' and the visible stars and gas in galaxies that could...

Jefferson County Sheriff defends soldier's funeral procession JEFFERSON COUNTY — The Jefferson County sheriff has offered a stern response to a woman complaining she was inconvenienced by a procession accompanying a soldier's casket. ... Boyer is a Vietnam veteran. He said Thursday he didn't intend for the e-mail to be widely released. -------------------------------------- The original email was sent to Sheriff Glenn Boyer on Thursday, August 27. Below is the citizen's email followed by Sheriff Boyer's response. I tried to call you earlier this morning, but was unable to obtain your extension from the voice mail system as I was not...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi forces raided a camp housing members of an Iranian opposition group north of Baghdad on Tuesday in a move that ran contrary to U.S. wishes and prompted clashes. Residents of Camp Ashraf claimed the Iraqi troops opened fire and beat people with batons, killing four people. The Iraqi government confirmed authorities had moved into the camp but denied violence was used against the exiles.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. military commanders in the Middle East have been sent a highly classified message reminding American forces to maintain discipline and prudence if they encounter any Iranian military or security forces during potential unrest surrounding Iran’s presidential election, CNN has learned. This so far is the only acknowledged U.S. military reaction to the unfolding situation in Iran. Two U.S. defense officials with direct knowledge of the message confirmed the details to CNN but said the issue is so sensitive that they could not divulge whose signature was on the message. It was distributed via secure communications in...

Iraqi Army Soldiers, pictured here on a patrol in February, are participating in joint patrols with Coalition forces throughout Iraq and taking on an increased role of responsibility for the security of their country. U.S. Army photo. DIYALA — Before the sun rose the morning of March 26, Soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, were already on the move, heading for the villages of Abu Bakr and Abu Awad. The Soldiers, commanded by Capt. Matthew D. Mackey, were beginning Operation Legion Pursuit II. The top three key tasks of Legion Pursuit II were to project...

Introducing the Robocopter: the newest and coolest looking weapon in the arsenal of the US Special Forces is entering combat this month. With this new and sophisticated flying eye in the sky the already dismal average life expectancy of the Islamonazis will be cut even shorter.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi security forces supported by U.S. firepower killed a senior al Qaeda leader who made car bombs and ran Islamist militant cells throughout northern Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday. A statement said the Iraqi army and members of a U.S.- backed Sunni Arab neighborhood patrol shot Abu Ghazwan as he hid in the grass near a house they were searching on Thursday in Tarmiya, north of Baghdad. The patrol had been attacked with guns and a bomb in the house. "While further searching the area, a (neighborhood patrol) member discovered a trail booby-trapped with grenades...

Britain's Armed Forces 'stretched beyond their capabilities' by fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan By James Kirkup, Political Correspondent Last Updated: 10:12PM BST 24/06/2008 Britain's Armed Forces cannot go on running two major military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, the head of the Armed Forces has admitted. There are 4,000 British troops in Iraq and numbers in Afghanistan will soon exceed 8,000 The two wars have left the Forces "stretched beyond the capabilities we have," Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup said. It is the first time the most senior officer in the British military has expressed such grave doubts about...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghan President Hamid Karzai threatened Sunday to send Afghan troops across the border to fight militants in Pakistan, a forceful warning to insurgents and the Pakistani government that his country is fed up with cross-border attacks. Karzai said Afghanistan has the right to self defense, and because militants cross over from Pakistan "to come and kill Afghan and kill coalition troops, it exactly gives us the right to do the same." Speaking at a Sunday news conference, Karzai warned Pakistan-based Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud that Afghan forces would target him on his home turf. Mehsud is suspected...

WARSAW, Poland - Two passenger jets made unrelated emergency landings in Poland Monday to remove rowdy passengers, one of whom claimed to be a terrorist. In the first incident, a Lufthansa-operated flight from Germany to the Ukraine was diverted to Pyrzowice airport, near the southern city of Katowice, after a Russian citizen on the plane claimed to be a terrorist. Polish border guards at the airport examined his luggage but found no evidence that he was a terrorist, said Maj. Cezary Zaborski, spokesman for local border guards. Zaborski said the man appeared to be inebriated. The plane, an Airbus 320...

WASHINGTON, March 5, 2008 – The numbers of U.S. special operations forces are expected to grow in the years ahead as the United States continues its fight against global terrorism, a senior U.S. military officer told a Senate panel here yesterday. By direction of the president, U.S. Special Operations Command is the lead combatant command for synchronizing Defense Department planning for the global war against terrorism, Navy Adm. Eric T. Olson, commander of U.S. Special Operations Command, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Today, special operators are posted in 58 countries, mostly in small numbers, Olson said. More...

• Ops Update • British VIP Visit ImageWatch Now Ops Update – Iraqi Security Forces strengths determined. British VIP Visit – Des Brown visits British Troops Fallujah Cement – Restoration of Cement Factory will help city. The “Raid Report” – Daily update on Iraqi and Coalition security progress. News Desk – Headlines from around the region. CSAR Maintainers – Maintenance team helps saves lives. Rules of Engagement – Soldiers build relationships with local citizens

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Coalition forces killed 10 terrorists and detained three suspects during operations Friday targeting al-Qaeda networks in central and northern Iraq. Southeast of Baghdad in Salman Pak, Coalition forces conducted an operation targeting an alleged foreign terrorist facilitator with ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq senior members operating in the Arab Jabour area. Reports indicate the individual is also associated with several foreign terrorist facilitators operating outside of Iraq, and an al-Qaeda in Iraq member who claims involvement in attacks against Coalition forces. The ground force was engaged by small arms fire as they approached the target building. Responding...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi security forces continue to make progress against al Qaeda and other criminal elements, thanks in large part to the efforts of concerned citizens throughout the country, a senior military official in Baghdad said during a briefing today. In his first briefing since taking over as chief of Multinational Force Iraq’s communications division, Navy Rear Adm. Gregory J. Smith said the recent detention of several key leaders in al Qaeda propaganda cells has proven that coalition forces are making an impact against al Qaeda in Iraq. Smith said four senior media cell members...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2007 – The commitment of ground forces in Iraq and Afghanistan is heavy, but the U.S. military has ample forces to respond to any other contingency that may arise, the general in charge of planning for the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today. About 490,000 military members are forward-deployed around the world, with 234,000 in Southwest and Central Asia, about 139,000 in the Pacific, about 96,000 in the European theater, and a little more than 4,000 in Latin and Central America and the Caribbean, Army Maj. Gen. Richard Sherlock, director of operational planning for the Joint...

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Sept. 24, 2007 — With the help of American and coalition forces, the Afghan national security forces are gradually earning the respect and acceptance of the Afghan people. Embedded tactical trainers spend their days training and coaching Afghan national army and police how to conduct themselves during and outside operations. “We are the ANP’s mentors; making sure they are being professional at their jobs and not exploiting their power.” Capt. Jason E. Knueven “Our biggest job is showing ANSF what ‘right’ looks like,” said Army National Guard Maj. Chris P. Guziec, ANP ETT district commander. “We take...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 7, 2007 – Rebuilding infrastructure, empowering local business leaders, and training Iraqi army forces are pieces of the full-spectrum approach being taken by coalition forces on the ground in Iraq, a U.S. military commander said this week. “Like most military units in our mission statement, it categorizes our approach as full spectrum, which means that we’re simultaneously developing capabilities of the Iraqi security forces, the local government, the basic services, building relationships with the local populace and tribal leaders,” said Army Col. Michael X. Garrett, commander of 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Multinational Division Center....

BAGHDAD — Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldiers operating in the Adhamiyah District of the Iraqi capital used to wager bets on what kind of attack they would come under when patrolling near the Abu Hanifa Mosque. “We’d be like, 'I wonder what we’ll get hit with today?'” said Maj. Jim Schaffer of Cleveland, Ohio, a civil affairs team leader who has been based in Adhamiyah since February. Small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs struck patrols traveling near the mosque on such a regular basis that Schaffer and the other Soldiers were convinced insurgents had made the Abu Hanifa their base....

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9, 2007 – The U.S. military’s most senior enlisted member locked up his office yesterday in pursuit of other seniors – senior citizens living in the Armed Forces Retirement Home here. Army Command Sgt. Maj. William J. Gainey, senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, jokes with Army veteran Jo Colvard-Willa Cooper about being married to a sailor, Aug. 8, 2007. Gainey and his joint travel team spent their workday visiting the Armed Forcers Retirement Home in Washington, D.C. Photo by Sheila R. Abarr  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Command...

Calling Blood Type AB Donors We have received an urgent request from the United States Department of Defense for type AB plasma. We will be shipping them 100 units a week thru mid-August. We ask for your help at this time. As a blood type AB donor, the plasma in your body is universal – it can go to anyone of any blood type. Who uses plasma? Burn patients, trauma patients, even our troops wounded in battle. Type AB is also rare. Only 4% of the population is type AB, so you can imagine how in-demand your plasma must be....

PATROL BASE MURRAY, Iraq, July 5, 2007 — Soldiers of 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, in conjunction with soldiers from the Iraqi Army’s 6th Division, have been hard at work in Arab Jabour, steadily clearing the area of al Qaeda and other insurgent forces. "I think that we still have some hard work to do the rest of the summer, but we are well on our way to the return of normalcy here on the western banks of the Tigris." U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ken Adgie U.S. Army Lt. Col. Ken Adgie, commander of the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment,...

WASHINGTON, June 25, 2007 – While Iraqi forces are progressing, it will take time before they are fully ready to shoulder the security burden, the man in charge of training Iraqi Army and police said today. Army Brig. Gen. Dana Pittard also said that one of the lessons of the war in Iraq is that the coalition must not “draw forces down too quickly when we think there's a glimmer of success.” Pittard is finishing up a year as the commander of the Iraq Assistance Group in Baghdad. He briefed Pentagon reporters via video teleconference. The Iraq Assistance Group...

I am wondering if anyone here has an info on Special Forces training that isn't easily found on the Internet. I am very tentatively considering going for SF in maybe 12-18 months. I have to get in a lot better shape (plus I need to get promoted to at least E-4), in the meantime. I don't just intend to qualify for SF training, I want to get to the training, stay in it all the way through, and become SF qualified and wear the tab. I won't go unless my PT score is in excess of 275 (it's currently around...

Armed Forces Day "America Supports You" Saturday, May 19, 2007 President Harry S. Truman led the effort to establish a single holiday for citizens to come together and thank our military members for their patriotic service in support of our country. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced the creation of an Armed Forces Day to replace separate Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force Days. The single-day celebration stemmed from the unification of the Armed Forces under one department -- the Department of Defense.

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md., May 18, 2007 – Ask someone serving in the military, and you might be surprised to hear them tell you just how much Armed Forces Day means to them. As the country commemorates its 57th Armed Forces Day tomorrow, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines say they’re grateful for a special day set aside to recognize them and their service. It’s particularly important, they say, while the country is at war. After 14 years in the Army and two deployments to the Middle East, Army Sgt. Robert Clark said he welcomes a day honoring the...

WASHINGTON, May 17, 2007 – Today’s servicemembers reflect the same determination shown by those who fought for America’s freedom more than 200 years ago, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said in a message issued as the annual Armed Forces Day observance approaches. Armed Forces Day -- always the third Saturday in May -- is observed May 19 this year. Gates said many people are familiar with the opening of Thomas Paine’s treatise called “The Crisis,” written in defense of the then-fledgling American Revolution: “These are the times that try men’s souls.” Less familiar, he said, is a later passage...

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces used fighter jets to destroy a truck bomb discovered in Anbar province, and conducted a raid south of Baghdad that netted weapons that insurgents apparently had imported from neighboring Iran, the military said Saturday. But deadly attacks by suspected insurgents continued in the capital, with a drive-by shooting killing four Iraqis, a mortar attack killing three children, and a roadside bomb killing a city street cleaner, police said. The truck loaded with explosives was found early Friday near Fallujah, a city in Anbar province, when Marines were tipped off about it by a suspected insurgent they...

WASHINGTON, April 10, 2007 – Taliban capabilities have gotten more robust, but so have the capabilities of the Afghan National Army and police to deal with them, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan said today. Army Maj. Gen. David Rodriguez told ABC reporter Diane Sawyer it will take a long time to rid the country of the “scourge of terrorism.” The Afghan National Army now has 35,000 soldiers trained and equipped. The Afghan police number about 63,000. Ultimately the Army will have 70,000 soldiers, and there will be 82,000 police in the nation of 25 million. There are...

WASHINGTON, April 5, 2007 – Tangible gains in Baghdad’s security situation have been made possible in part by the cooperation of vastly improved Iraqi security forces, a coalition spokesman said yesterday. Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said that with 50 out of 75 planned U.S.-Iraqi joint security stations and combat outposts already in place throughout the Iraqi capital, the sustained, neighborhood-level presence is leading to an “effect that we can actually see.” Speaking from Baghdad to a group of online journalists, Caldwell pointed to a decrease in the number of sectarian murders and assassinations,...

WASHINGTON, April 4, 2007 – The Iraqi people are starting to show more confidence in their security forces, and this is paying off with better security in Baghdad, coalition officials said today. The largest indicator is that sectarian killings have dropped 27 percent in March from February, Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, coalition spokesman, said during a Baghdad news conference. But although that and other indicators point in the same direction, Caldwell cautioned, security should not be measured in progress over days or weeks, but rather over months. With the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, in place, three of...

BAQUBAH — Iraqi and Coalition forces began a joint operation targeting an Islamic State of Iraq power base at the Diyala River Valley Saturday. During the ongoing operation, Soldiers from the 5th Iraqi Army Division and U.S. Army 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, attached to the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division killed more than 15 anti-Iraqi forces, detained more than 15 suspected terrorists, and unearthed eight weapons caches. “The Iraqi security forces, with our support, will maintain an aggressive approach to operations in order to secure the population and defeat the terrorists,” said Col. David W. Sutherland, 3rd...

WASHINGTON, March 15, 2007 – Coalition and Afghan forces arrested four people this morning during an operation targeting a known terrorist safe house, military officials reported. The combined force arrested four military-age men with suspected ties to extremist groups believed to be involved in facilitating the movement of anti-government fighters. Official said some were discovered with large amounts of ammunition and currency. Afghan forces, escorted by the local imam, questioned some men who had recently arrived from Pakistan and were staying in the local mosque. Coalition forces remained outside the mosque during the operation. No shots were fired during...

March 1, 2007, 5:45PMU.S. forces pursue Taliban into Pakistan By LOLITA C. BALDOR Associated Press Writer © 2007 The Associated Press WASHINGTON — American forces on Afghanistan's eastern border routinely fire upon and pursue Taliban enemies into Pakistan, defense officials told Congress on Thursday, offering the most detailed description to date of U.S. action in that region. They said the Taliban threat is greater now than it was a year ago, and they agreed that the Pakistan government can and must do more to get at the large, ungoverned sectors along the remote Pakistan border that are safe havens for...

Russia threatened on Thursday to pull out of a landmark nuclear arms control treaty unless the US backed away from plans to install its missile defence shield in Eastern Europe. Yury Baluyevsky, the Russian army chief of staff, said Moscow might unilaterally withdraw from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty, which forced the US and the Soviet Union to ban nuclear and conventional ground-launched ballistic and cruise missiles with ranges of 500 to 5,500km. There was “convincing evidence” for leaving the agreement because “many countries are developing and perfecting medium-range rockets”, he said. But the general also explicitly linked Russia’s...

We are pleased to announce that Richard A. Wannemacher, Jr., Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – National Cemetery Administration, has accepted our invitation to address the audience attending EchoTaps Worldwide 2007 at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN on May 19, 2007. VA Memorial Affairs is responsible for providing burial space for Veterans and their eligible family members; maintaining National Cemeteries as national shrines, sacred to the honor and memory of those interred or memorialized there; marking the graves of Veterans with a Government-provided headstone or marker; providing Presidential Memorial Certificates in...

KIRKUK -- Artillery Soldiers visited two oil-gas separation plants in Janbar Thursday to check the progress of the Oil Protection Forces guarding pipelines south of here. The OPF, funded by the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, guard the infrastructure that keeps the oil flowing in the area. Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, met with the OPF to learn how they can better support the Iraqi Forces and ensure they continue to receive the tools they need for success. The 3-7 Soldiers make themselves available to assist with training, supplies and guidance on...

WASHINGTON, Jan. 3, 2007 – The Iraqi government will have command-and-control of all of its ground forces by the end of 2007, a senior U.S. military officer based in Baghdad predicted today. The year 2007 “is truly the year of transition and adaptation” for Iraq, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters at a news conference in Baghdad. All Iraqi army divisions will be under Iraqi Ground Forces Command by summertime, Caldwell said. And, all Iraqi provinces, he said, will go back to Iraqi provincial control by the fall. “So that by the...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 2006 – Iraqi military and police forces are eager to help find solutions for the challenges facing their country, and they are becoming more capable of assuming increased responsibility for security, a senior U.S. military officer said in Baghdad today. As President Bush deliberates the way ahead in Iraq, the Iraqi people and their security forces will ultimately have the responsibility to quell violence and effect peace across the country, Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, told reporters. “Ultimately, Iraqis have to step up and develop solutions to their country’s problems,”...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 11, 2006 -- Iraqi security forces captured 16 suspected terrorists yesterday, and a Dec. 9 air strike killed two others, military officials in Iraq reported. In Fallujah yesterday, 1st Iraqi Army Division forces, with coalition advisors, conducted operations against insurgent cell leaders, capturing four suspected terrorists. The insurgent cells are responsible for improvised-explosive-device, car-bomb and mortar attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces in the area, officials said. The suspects also are linked to criminal activity in the area. One of the detained men is suspected of being a weapons smuggler for anti-government forces operating in and...

Iraqi and American Soldiers wait in a field for a Blackhawk helicopter to pick them up after they conducted an air assault operation into a village in eastern Yusufiyah, Iraq to search for a suspected terrorist mortar team and for weapons caches. Official U.S. Army photo. BAGHDAD -- Iraqi Security Forces are on track to take care of their own security and combat operations virtually free of Coalition support within the next year, Multi-National Force - Iraq’s spokesman told reporters Tuesday. “The Iraqi Security Force is making progress toward ensuring that Iraq’s future will be determined by Iraqis who want...

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2006 -- Robert M. Gates vowed today to be an independent voice if he is confirmed as defense secretary. “I don’t owe anybody anything,” Gates said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I’ve come back here to do the best I can for the men and women in uniform and for the country in terms of these difficult problems that we face.” Gates, who was nominated for the top DoD post by President Bush, also said he is open to increasing the end-strength of the Army and Marine Corps. Gates said he thinks the...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 24, 2006 -- In separate operations today, yesterday and Nov. 22 throughout Iraq, coalition forces and Iraqi security forces killed five terrorists and detained 21 suspected terrorists, military officials in Iraq reported. Coalition forces killed four terrorists and detained six suspected terrorists during a mission today to disrupt an al Qaeda car bomb cell in Tarmiyah. As ground forces made their way toward the targeted building, they received enemy fire from the vicinity of a mosque. Coalition forces returned fire, killing four terrorists, and continued toward the targeted building. At the targeted building, the ground forces detained...

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2006 -- Special Iraqi army forces, with coalition advisors, conducted a raid today in Baghdad’s Sadr City neighborhood against an illegal armed group responsible for kidnapping, torturing and murdering Iraqi civilians and soldiers. The cell has more than 30 members and allegedly uses a mosque compound as a place to conduct its illegal activity and store weapons. The cell is known to be targeting Iraqi soldiers, officials said. Iraqi forces entered the mosque in search of cell members, but no one was detained. There was minimal damage to the mosque, and Iraqi forces fired on and...

BAGHDAD — Iraqi Security Forces and Multi-National Division – Baghdad troops seized a weapons cache and discovered another in the Iraqi capital’s Mansour neighborhood Nov. 17. Iraqi Soldiers received assistance from MND-B Soldiers seizing a weapons cache at about 3:20 p.m. Iraqi Police from the Mamun Station, with the assistance of Soldiers from 615th Military Police Company, attached to 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, were conducting a joint patrol when a civilian tipped the Iraqi Policemen to a possible improvised explosive device in a nearby home. When the patrol arrived at the suspect’s house, troops discovered the building...

The pentagon announced TODAY the formation of a new 500-man elite fighting unit called the United States Redneck Special Forces (USRSF). These boys will be dropped into Iraq and have been given the following facts about terrorists: 1. The season opened today. 2. There is no limit. 3. They taste like chicken. 4. They don't like beer, pickups, country music or Jesus. 5. They are directly responsible for the death of Dale Earnhardt. The Pentagon expects the problem in Iraq to be over by Friday.

WASHINGTON — Insurgent, terrorist and sectarian attacks occured during Ramadan, but the Iraqi Government and Coalition allies remain committed to building a better future, says the chief spokesman for Multi-National Force – Iraq. "Traditionally this is a time of great celebration; it has, instead, been a period of increased violence," Army Major General William Caldwell said in an Oct. 19 Baghdad press briefing. "The violence is indeed disheartening." Caldwell said attacks increased 22 percent in Baghdad since Ramadan began Sept. 24. Hostile forces continue to target private citizens even as attacks have increased against Iraqi and Coalition forces that are...

CAMP FALLUJAH, Iraq, Oct. 17, 2006 – Coalition forces defeated a complex insurgent small-arms-fire attack in Ramadi, Iraq, yesterday, killing three insurgents, military officials reported today. There were no reports of civilian or coalition casualties. Insurgents attacked three different coalition locations from several buildings at the same time with small-arms fire, officials said. In response, coalition forces established the origin of the gunfire and returned fire with small-arms and machine-gun fire. When the enemy’s fire did not cease, coalition forces used increasing levels of force, including tank main-gun rounds followed by an air-delivered missile. (From a Multinational Corps Iraq news...

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 16, 2006 – An Afghan and coalition force destroyed a roadside-bomb-making cell today at a compound in Ghazni province, killing three terrorists and destroying the compound with precision air strikes, military officials here reported. When the combined force attempted to peacefully search the compound and ask residents to come out for questioning, enemy personnel inside the compound began firing and wounded one coalition solider. The combined force called in close-air support and killed three suspects in the engagement. Officials provided no information on the nationality or condition of the wounded coalition soldier. During the engagement, a weapons...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 11, 2006 – Iraqi police and coalition forces captured two insurgents Oct. 9 in Samarra, Iraq, and Iraqi police shut down an insurgent financial operation Oct. 9 in Tikrit, military officials in Iraq reported. Iraqi police and coalition forces conducting a joint patrol captured two suspected insurgents who were attempting to enter Samarra by vehicle through a gap in the city’s surrounding berm. A search of the suspects’ vehicle revealed a sniper rifle. The individuals were detained for questioning. The combined patrol also apprehended an individual after receiving small-arms and indirect fire at a checkpoint. After determining the...