'Clean Sweep' Captures Terror Suspects
The goal of Operation Clean Sweep was to clear neighborhoods of terrorist activity.

By U.S. Army Spc. Dan Balda 4th Brigade Combat Team
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Nov. 18, 2005 � Iraqi and U.S. forces recently detained dozens of terror suspects during searches in south Baghdad in Operation Clean Sweep, a mission to clear neighborhoods of terrorist activity. "Operation Clean Sweep was intended to clean out an area that was known to be used as a way for insurgents to come towards Baghdad from the south as well as an area that a lot of [vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices] and [improvised explosive devices] were coming from," said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Everett Knapp, commander of the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment. In anticipation of the Dec. 15 nationwide elections, U.S. soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment, as well as Iraqi forces from the 4th Public Order Brigade and 1st Commando Brigade, raided about 350 homes and detained 49 suspected terrorists. Military officials said ten of the suspects were forwarded to detention facilities.
"The Iraqi soldiers really took the lead (on this mission). They don't need translators; they can tell who the good guys are and who doesn't belong in a certain situation." U.S. Army Lt. Col. Everett Knapp
Some of the 1st Battalion, 184th Infantry Regiment soldiers set up the outer cordon of the mission while others shadowed their Iraqi counterparts during the lat October operation. "The Iraqi soldiers really took the lead (on this mission)," Knapp said. "They don't need translators; they can tell who the good guys are and who doesn't belong in a certain situation."