(VOI) - The U.S. army announced its troops arrested 16 al-Qaeda network suspects in central and northern Iraq during operations conducted throughout the past 48 hours. "Coalition forces detained four suspected terrorists Tuesday in Baghdad, including a man who is reportedly involved in a terrorist facilitation network," said U.S. army statement received by Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq - (VOI). "Intelligence reports indicate the group brings foreigners into Iraq and provides false documents to help them move around the country and conduct attacks against civilians," it added.The U.S. army noted they captured two wanted men and three additional suspects in Sharqat, 90 km south Mosul. "One of the wanted men is assessed to be a cell leader and senior advisor in an area stretching from Kirkuk to the Tigris River Valley. The other wanted man allegedly has ties to al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) senior leaders."
Two suspected terrorists were detained in an operation targeting an AQI extortion cell Tuesday in Mosul, and U.S. forces discovered bomb-making materials along with the suspects. "A wanted man and an additional suspect were detained in Mosul on Monday during an operation targeting the AQI propaganda network," the announcement noted.
The announcement highlighted the U.S. army detained three suspected gunmen. "One of the detainees is believed to conspire with an AQI leader who operates a kidnapping cell to finance other terrorist activities," the announcement added.