CENTCOM NEWS RELEASE

November 16, 2003
Release Number: 03-11-26

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FORMER REGIME LOYALISTS RESPONSIBLE FOR IED ATTACKS CAPTURED

AL FALLUJAH, IRAQ – Paratroopers from 1st Battalion, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment captured two brothers in a planned operation earlier today.

Latif and Salif Ibrahim, the brothers of captured Lt. Gen. Khamis Salah Ibrahim Al Halboosi, were detained for their part in an improvised explosive device attack on a U.S. Army convoy, which destroyed an ammunition truck near Al Fallujah in October.

When the brothers were detained, the paratroopers seized an AK-47, an RPG launcher, two RPG rounds, and 36 million dinar (approximately $24,000).

Previously, the former regime loyalists had organized and supplied money for attacks against coalition troops in Iraq in the past.

The capture of these brothers severely hinders the ability of local former regime loyalist cells to organize and implement attacks against innocent Iraqis and coalition forces.