Subscribe

U.S. and Iraqi troops this week have seized large weapons caches in and around Baghdad, an indication that insurgents continue to smuggle weapons amid wide security gains in the country.

In one incident, Iraqi police, army and SWAT officials detained three people and seized 255 grenades, 23 fuses, two cases of AK-47 ammunition and 1,000 rounds of armor-piercing ammunition from a farm in Maysan province.

Three men also were detained in the operation, U.S. forces said Friday.

"The operation involved more than 400 personnel and multiple simultaneous objectives," a U.S. military statement read. "The joint effort disrupted a major smuggling effort the [Iraqi army] and Maysan police departments were working to defeat."

U.S. troops from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division were involved in the effort, officials said.

In a second operation, in eastern Baghdad, U.S. troops and Iraqi National Police seized a large number of rockets and other weapons.

According to U.S. military officials, the raid came after a tip from a local resident in the 9 Nissan district of the capital.

Iraqis with the 2nd Battalion, 8th NP Brigade, 2nd NP Division, working with U.S. troops from the 2nd Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, uncovered three separate weapon caches.

Among the weapons found were 29 Katushya rockets, more than 620 mortar rounds of varying sizes, 15 anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 44 rocket-propelled grenade rounds and large quantities of explosives and bomb-making materials, officials said.

Sign Up for Daily Headlines

Sign up to receive a daily email of today's top military news stories from Stars and Stripes and top news outlets from around the world.

Sign Up Now