BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A joint patrol found five rocket tubes and one rocket, Oct. 30, not far from a suspected launch point for insurgents firing rockets into the International Zone.
Soldiers from the 1st Cavalry Division's Company D, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment and the 304th Iraqi National Guard Battalion discovered three fiberglass tubes and two metal tubes near a road not far from the Tigris River. The tubes were set up and pointed in the direction of the International Zone.
After searching the surrounding area, the patrol also found one 80-millimeter Soviet-built rocket buried next to a road, according to a source with 1-8 Cavalry. The battalion called this find significant because insurgents fired rockets Oct. 27 not far from where the tubes were found.
"Taking that equipment is good because it stopped an imminent attack on the International Zone," said Capt. Jeff Mersiowsky, the assistant operations officer for 1-8 Cavalry.
An explosive ordnance disposal team from Camp Falcon destroyed the rocket in a controlled detonation later that afternoon. The tubes were brought back to Camp Falcon for analysis.
