A terrorist detonated a suicide vest Sunday in Mosul while Coalition forces were conducting an operation to capture a wanted man.

As Coalition forces entered the building housing the terrorist, they began receiving small arms fire. Coalition forces returned fire once engaged. A terrorist detonated a suicide vest shortly thereafter in the house.

During the operation, five terrorists, along with three women and three children were killed. Two additional children, one of which was injured, were found near the building and moved to safety.

Coalition forces conducted a sweep of the building once it was secure and found a hidden weapons cache containing multiple small arms weapons and additional explosives.

“This is just another tragic example of how al-Qaeda in Iraq hides behind innocent Iraqis. The terrorist exploded his suicide vest in close proximity to women and children, and in a house full of explosives and weapons,” said Rear Adm. Patrick Driscoll, Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman.

In separate operations near Baghdad Sunday, Coalition forces captured two wanted individuals and detained two additional suspects. All four individuals are believed to have ties to an AQI improvised explosive device network.

Coalition forces operating in Hawijah, 60 km southwest of Kirkuk, Sunday detained one suspected terrorist believed to be associated with an IED facilitator in Diyala province.

MNF-I