BAYJI — Eight armored vehicles crept through the narrow city street here searching for the objective. More than 20 Paratroopers would storm, secure and search the site for their target.

“That’s it. Let’s move,” the platoon sergeant calmly said over the radio.

Immediately the element dismounted their vehicles and raced toward the target house. Troops placed ladders and hurled themselves over the cement wall into the courtyard.

Once the courtyard was breached, the Paratroopers entered the house and found multiple small arms. They also detained one man linked to an insurgent cell.

“It was exciting,” said Staff Sgt. Mica Snell, fire support sergeant, Company C, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. “You fight everyday, and when your spirits are getting low and you find (an insurgent), it brings them back up.”

One of the biggest cache sites discovered was found on Bayji Island. The site included hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenade launchers with multiple rounds, small arms, mortar tubes, mortar rounds and bomb-making material.

The find came after a unit called for support while detaining 11 individuals linked to an anti-Iraqi forces cell. The Paratroopers searched it and found a cache site that stretched across Bayji Island, said Green.

There were so many weapons and so much ammunition that the ordnance disposal team ran out of explosives while destroying the contents of the cache site.

The remaining weapons were taken back to Forward Operating Base Summerall for destruction.

Green added that after finding the cache there were no insurgent attacks in the area for more than 36 hours.

Later in the week, Coalition and Iraqi Forces conducted a raid based off intelligence informing Paratroopers of a terrorist cell that trademarks themselves with black uniforms.

When they searched the house, they found multiple black jumpsuits neatly hanging on a wall. Surrounding the uniforms was a scattered assortment of small arms and ammunition.

The “black jumpsuit” insurgent cell was shut down and out of commission in Bayji.

Photo: U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Andrew Centella, mortar section sergeant, Company C, 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and two of his Paratroopers pull up rugs in search for weapons during a raid in Bayji, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Joshua R. Ford.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

What’s Everybody Talking About?

November 29 - 30, 2006

Just link and trackback to this post. Nothing to it but to do it.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Open Trackback AllianceLinkfest Haven

Others with open trackbacks: Third World County, Jo’s Cafe

Disclaimer: trackbacks to this post do not necessarily represent the opinions or standards of the Blue Star Chronicles.

Please check out the posts linked below ~~~~~