| Soldiers from the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) fought suspected members of the Ansar Al Islam terrorist group Dec. 28 in the city of Mosul during a cordon and knock operation. When the soldiers attempted to enter the home the suspects engaged them with small arms fire and one grenade. The unit returned fire, then entered and cleared the building. The American soldiers killed three terrorists during the operation, and turned one male, two females and three children over to the Iraqi Police. Two soldiers were wounded in action during the mission; both are in stable condition. The house caught fire during the engagement and was extinguished by the Iraqi Fire Department. The unit discovered and confiscated two rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers, 11 RPG rounds, eight grenades, two AK-47s with 1,100 rounds, one 9-millimeter sub-machine gun, $30,000 worth of Iraqi dinar and nine religious books with anti-Coalition content. |