MUQDADIYAH, Iraq - Acting on information from Concerned Local Citizens, Soldiers from 6-9 Armored Reconnaissance Squadron, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, unearthed a weapons cache and detained one suspected terrorist near Baloor village, in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, Oct 17.

"Having local citizens point out where terrorists and their support bases shows the desire the people in Diyala have to live in peace," said Col. David W. Sutherland, commander of Coalition Forces in Diyala province. "They now realize that they are the definers of their democracy."

The cache consisted of three sticks of dynamite and one stick of home-made explosives. The Concerned Local Citizens also turned in a suspected terrorist believed to be responsible for the explosives discovered.

In other operations across Diyala, Oct 16, two additional weapons caches were discovered.
Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, discovered a weapons cache in palm groves near the capitol city of Baqouba. The cache consisted of three 107mm rockets and nine 120mm mortar rounds.

The other cache was discovered in the Al Suk market during Operation Market Fury, an ongoing operation to clear al-Qaeda from Muqdadiyah's major market. Soldiers from Troop B, 6-9 ARS, discovered the cache while establishing strong points in the market area. The cache consisted of one rocket-propelled grenade launcher and three RPG rounds.

"The discovery of these caches is vital as the weapons would have been used to harm the local population or security forces," said Sutherland. "Fortunately, the people are tired of the violence and continue to stand up against the terrorists and criminal elements attempting to infest their neighborhoods."

All three caches were reduced during controlled detonations.