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    Weapons cache found in Tal Afar

    Cpl. Hayes organizes weapons his unit found during a raid

    Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Wilt | Cpl. Robert M. Hayes, an infantryman with Company C, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne...... read more read more

    TAL AFAR, IRAQ

    10.19.2005

    Story by Sgt. James Wilt 

    82nd Airborne Division

    Pfc. James Wilt
    82nd Airborne Division Public Affairs Office
    Oct. 18, 2005

    TALL AFAR, Iraq -- Paratroopers from Company B, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, and Company B, 307th Engineer Battalion, 82nd Abn. Div., uncovered a cache of weapons during a raid on a house here, Oct. 18, 2005.

    The combined unit unearthed seven assault rifles, one medium machine gun, six hand grenades, three anti-aircraft rounds modified for use as hand grenades, seven ammunition vests, over 2,500 rounds of ammunition, 30 magazines and materials thought to be used to make improvised explosive devices.

    Working off of a tip from a local resident, the paratroopers searched the house last night in an effort to uncover any weapons there.

    Three assault rifles and two ammunition vests were found during the initial search, said Staff Sgt. Jason R. Gillis, an infantryman with Co. B, 2nd Bn., 325th AIR.

    The informant who gave the unit the tip approached the paratroopers a second time to tell them that he believed there were still more weapons inside the house, Gillis, a native of Goldsboro, N.C., said.

    Again following the lead from the informant, the troopers returned to the house in the morning armed with a metal detector and digging tools.

    Once in the target room, the unit's metal detector didn't find anything beneath the stone lined floor, said Spc. Christopher L. Sharp, a combat engineer, with Co. B, 307th Eng. Bn.

    Undeterred, Sharp and Pfc. Valentino R. Cuellar, also a combat engineer, began moving rocks to search for any recently moved soil, Sharp, a Dallas native, said.

    Picking up a rock by the doorway, Sharp said, he noticed the dirt was not packed down like the rest of the floor.

    After removing more rocks, Sharpe found a barrel buried in the dirt.

    Inside of the barrel was the largest cache Co. B, 2nd Bn. 325th AIR has found in their sector, Sharp said.

    The paratroopers removed the weapons and filled in the hole were the cache was buried.

    Moving on to search the rest of the house and surrounding area, the Soldiers found electronic devices believed to be used for making IEDs.

    No detainees were taken as the house was unoccupied.

    The raid was part of the 82nd Airborne Division's efforts to make the streets here safer for the Iraqi people.

    "Look at all the stuff that we found, how many lives we probably saved," said Cuellar, a native of Los Angeles.

    The paratroopers will remain in the city for an undetermined amount of time and will continue to conduct operations here in an attempt to maintain stability in the region.

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 10.19.2005
    Date Posted: 10.19.2005 13:07
    Story ID: 3404
    Location: TAL AFAR, IQ

    Web Views: 143
    Downloads: 27

    PUBLIC DOMAIN