By 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
FORWARD OPERATING BASE KALSU, Iraq – Members of the Sons of Iraq turned over a weapons cache to coalition forces south of Baghdad on April 25.
The SoI members reported finding the cache, which consisted of 47 57-mm projectiles, two propane tanks filled with homemade explosives and one rocket, at the Maskar Bunker Complex in Arab Jabour.
Projectiles like those recovered have been used in the recent past to make pressure-plate improvised explosive devices, said Capt. William Lyles, assistant operation officer for 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.
This is the third time this week SoI have turned munitions over to Coalition forces at Combat Outpost Murray, including a 500-pound bomb turned in April 24, said Lyles, a native of Hampton, Va.
"The SoI have contributed greatly to the improved security in the Arab Jabour area," Lyles said. "Their tips and intelligence have led to the arrest of several al-Qaeda in Iraq insurgents. They're truly doing everything they can to work toward long-term stability in the area."
The weapons will be destroyed at a later date.