Cracking An Insurgent Cell
Finding--and breaking--the ruthless killers of Iraq is not a pretty business. An exclusive inside look at how it's done
High ground. Some of the rules U.S. soldiers must follow in Iraq complicate the fight against the insurgency, many there believe. "Our hands have been tied for a long time," Kelly says. Nevertheless, he argues, the rules ensure that America does not lose its values. "It is more difficult for us to do things," he says. "But the world has its eye on us. We have to hold the moral high ground."
As Kelly talks, Fox leaves the battalion Tactical Operations Center to meet Majeed. He is no longer going to take the prisoners back to the police. Instead, the Iraqis plan to raid four different buildings. The target is cell leader Abu Mahmoud, a man wanted badly by the Iraqi police and Army. Adel, whose real name is Imad Shaeb, has not broken under Army interrogation. "There is no way you will catch Abu Mahmoud" is all he has to say. But Nashwan has begun telling everything he knows, including the location of Abu Mahmoud's home. Inside Fox's Stryker, Capt. Lawson Bell, who works in the S-3 office, expresses surprise that Nashwan has given up so much information. "They must have really [sodomized] that guy," Bell says.
The Mujahideen Army cell was begun in Tal Afar, according to Nashwan, but after the American and Iraqi military attack on that city in September, the members escaped to Mosul, where they began bringing in IED s and accumulating weapons. Abu Mahmoud, who assumed leadership of the cell in June, when the previous leader was captured, is suspected of masterminding an attack on the Iraqi Army that left 14 soldiers dead.
Nashwan, his face obscured with a ski mask, first leads Majeed and Fox to a street lined by dilapidated apartment buildings. The Americans hang back, allowing the Iraqis to search for Abu Mahmoud. From the street, they hear Arabic yells. There is the sound of breaking glass and of doors being forced open. In the first building, Nashwan identifies one member of the cell, but Abu Mahmoud isn't there. When the Iraqi soldiers move across the street to raid more houses, Nashwan is left with the Americans. "Please tell them to give me one more chance with my life," Nashwan pleads to Alleathe. "I promise never to do anything like this again."
The Iraqi soldiers detain two men in the second building. In two more stops, they detain two more men, rounding up all cell members but one--the leader, Abu Mahmoud. "The big fish," Majeed tells Fox, "got away."
"Yeah," Fox responds, "but now he is scared."
The Americans and the Iraqis part company, but for Majeed, the night isn't quite over. A few hours later, Nashwan comes up with another possible location for Abu Mahmoud. Majeed calls Alleathe. But after a long day and night, he sleeps through the cellphone ring. Majeed goes out with a platoon of 20 Iraqi soldiers and arrests Abu Mahmoud without American help. Triumphantly, Majeed returns with the insurgent leader to his battalion headquarters; within hours, Abu Mahmoud reveals key details of his cell's operations.
advertisement
