Soldiers ‘get the bad boys’ in raids

BAGHDAD — Under the cover of darkness, soldiers from Alpha Company, 91st Engineer Battalion, creep up a narrow alley to their target, ready to scale the front wall of a small home and seize the men who tried to attack their platoon.

First, they knock. When the gate swings open, they ask for the men in question and detain four of them. A field test reveals that the men have traces of explosives on their hands.

“This is how it’s supposed to go,” says 1st Lt. Nicolas Bradley, 27, of Salt Lake City, who led the pre-dawn raid. “This is the best part of our job, going to get the bad boys.”

The Alpha Company of the 91st Engineers has raided neighborhoods in western Baghdad every night this week.

It is searching for terror suspects and insurgents. Soldiers say every arrest they make will reduce the number of attacks against Iraqis and the multinational forces.

But with Monday’s transfer of authority to an interim Iraqi government, the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Division fear that their aggressive pursuit of insurgents will have to end.

“We’ve been told that after the [transition], we’ll need a warrant or something just short of a warrant to go in,” says 1st Lt. Brian Stone, 24, of Pittsburgh. “We won’t be able to do it just off suspicion anymore.”

Raids have netted so many suspects that the detention facility in Baghdad is filled to overflowing.

The detainees are suspected of attacking coalition forces with homemade bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire. Some are accused of dealing in weapons or organizing against coalition forces and the people who work with them.

During a routine patrol through the “valley of death” — a pair of highways that intersect in western Baghdad, where many bombs, grenades and mortars strike supply convoys — Lt. Stone gets a call to respond to reports of three potential car bombs still parked at a nearby home.

After a search of the house, three men, including one tribal sheik, test positive for traces of explosives. They are handcuffed and taken for booking.

“If we find something like we did today, then we get another bad guy off the street,” Lt. Stone said. “If we go in and we don’t find anything and it happened to be a criminal, hopefully we scared them into rethinking what they were going to do. Either that or we scare them enough to leave town and not attack us.”

As Lt. Stone’s convoy makes its way back to base with the three detainees, it receives another radio call. The crew is dispatched to pick up more men arrested by U.S. troops.

An hour later, six men in plastic handcuffs slide into an already packed Bradley Fighting Vehicle. One of the men, another sheik, is today’s “big fish.” He is known as an anti-coalition agitator and terrorist.

“Those guys want to kill me,” says Spc. Clarence Adams, 27, of Richmond, who swabbed three men for traces of explosives. “I’ve got seven kids. I’m glad we got them.”

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