Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
RELEASE No. 20071008-16
East Rashid mosque no longer al-Qaeda refuge
Multi-National Division - Baghdad PAO
BAGHDAD - Iraqi National Police and elements of the 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment conducted an operation on the Ahmad Al-Mukhtar Mosque in the East Rashid District of the Iraqi capital Oct. 6.
After receiving numerous tips from concerned citizens, it was determined that al-Qaeda in Iraq was using the abandoned mosque as an operational base for criminal activities including the planning of indirect fire and improvised explosive device attacks.
Iraqi National Police entered and searched the mosque while Coalition Forces provided exterior security. No U.S. forces entered the mosque.
The Iraqi Police ensured the mosque was carefully respected and while they did not find anything significant inside, there was evidence that al-Qaeda had been using it for meetings and weapons storage.
