 The Multi-National Force and the Iraqi Army on Sunday detained 52 gunmen and seized weapon caches in Operation Scorpion nearby Hawijah, northern Iraq. An MNF press release said the cordon and search operation covered eight villages around the town of Hawijah, noting that 24 out of the 52 detainees were part of a list of wanted persons created based upon intelligence, while the remaining detainees were taken for investigative purposes. The force said in a press release that the performance of the Iraqi forces participating in the operation had dramatically improved as the forces were capable of executing complicated operations in Hawijah without losses. |