WASHINGTON, May 8, 2005  Multinational force operations netted 109 terrorists and suspects throughout Iraq today and May 7, and included finding large weapons caches. In simultaneous operations conducted early today north of the town of Al Qaim, 54 terrorists within the circle of known terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were captured or killed, according to Multinational Force Iraq officials today. Coalition forces also destroyed car bombs, bomb-making material and two buildings that contained large weapons caches to include hand- and rocket-propelled grenades. Multiple sources of intelligence indicate that terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's key lieutenants, suicide bombers and a large population of foreign fighters are located in the region in and around Al Qaim, near the Syrian border. In recent months, terrorists operating in this unstable region attacked Iraqis and coalition forces, established safe houses and helped move foreign fighters, weapons and money from Syria into Iraq. In other action May 7, Task Force Baghdad raids snared 38 terror suspects in the Baghdad area, including two high-value targets in a series of early morning raids May 7. The raids included getting 29 suspected terrorists in the largest strike of the day in south Baghdad. And a separate operation detained five more suspected terrorists, one thought to be the leader of a terror cell in southwest Baghdad. There, troops also found 1,000 rounds of assault-rifle ammunition in a burlap bag covered with mud. In addition, U.S. soldiers on patrol in east Baghdad also found another weapons cache containing two mortar rounds and 10 rocket-propelled grenades. In Babil province May 7, Multinational Division Central South forces detained 17 terror suspects during cordon-and-search operations. Iraqi, Polish, Salvadoran and U.S. troops conducted the combined operation in an area of Al Mashru, capturing anti-Iraqi and anti-coalition forces, illegal weapons and ammunition. Elsewhere, Marines and soldiers of Multinational Force West recently discovered and destroyed hundreds of weapons and tons of ammunition found in 13 hidden caches near Al Amiriyah in Anbar province. The find was the largest in recent months in western Iraq. Marines of 3rd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, and soldiers of the 155th Brigade Combat Team unearthed a series of caches April 27 while they were conducting cordon-and-search operations. The caches took nearly a week to uncover, catalog and destroy. The caches contained significant numbers of weapons and explosives that could be used in attacks on Iraqi citizens, Iraqi security forces and coalition forces. Items included more than 4,100 mortar rounds, more than 800 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, more than 100,000 rounds of machine-gun ammunition, more than 400 grenades, and several thousand pounds of different types of explosives and bomb-making material. Some materials were buried, while others were in underground bunkers. Most of the weapons and ammunition were in good condition and ready for use. (Based on a Multinational Force Iraq news release.)
U.S. Marine uses a metal rod to check a pothole for mines during a convoy from Camp Al Asad to Al Qaim, Iraq, on April 23, 2005. photo by Cpl. Brian A. Jaques

The U.S. military reports 75 militants dead in an offensive launched Sunday in western Iraq. The offensive was begun with U.S. air support in a desert area north of the Euphrates River in the province of Anbar. There is no word on civilian casualties, if any.

A report by a ''Chicago Tribune'' journalist embedded with U.S. forces said the offensive "was seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria."

More than 1,000 U.S. and coalition troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked villages in and around Al Qaim, near the Syrian border. A statement by the US military said the operation was expected to last several days, and was targeting a smuggling route and hideouts for foreign rebels.

The ''American Forces Press Service'' reports: "Coalition forces also destroyed car bombs, bomb-making material and two buildings that contained large weapons caches to include hand- and rocket-propelled grenades."

The ''New York Times'' reports an estimate of insurgent casualties at over 100.  

Col. Bob Chase, the chief of operations for the Second Marine Division, has said there were "a handful" of marine casualties.  The source also reports Chase saying, "The objective is to totally disrupt the safe havens and rat lines that have allowed them to bring those materials across the border. This had been a very secure area for the insurgents."

In a statement made from an Islamist website that could not be confirmed, the Al-Qaeda militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi reportedly said, "The adorers of the cross claim to have killed 75 Muslims at Al-Qaim. Once more, they are lying, because lying is their religion," according to Forbes.