BAGHDAD — The U.S. military has found a huge underground bunker
used to house Sunni insurgents and their weapons.
The underground lair was found in Karmah about 80 kilometers west of
Baghdad in the Anbar province. Officials said the bunker, located in an
abandoned quarry, measured 275 by 170 meters and contained air-conditioned
barracks and advanced military equipment. The equipment included night
vision goggles.
Officials said the military assessed that the Sunni insurgency loyal to
Saddam Hussein has employed other bunkers. They believed the additional
bunkers — all built by the Saddam regime in the 1980s — were located in
the south of Baghdad.
A military statement said the Karmah bunker contained "four fully
furnished living spaces, a kitchen with fresh food, two shower facilities
and a working air conditioner. Other rooms
within the complex were filled with weapons and ammunition."
"Coalition forces and ISF [Iraqi security forces] found numerous types
of machine guns, ordnance, including mortars, rockets and artillery rounds,
black uniforms, ski masks, compasses, log books, night vision goggles, and
fully charged cell phones," the military said.
The military said the bunker was destroyed by 100 kilograms of plastic
explosives.
In Mosul, Iraqi and U.S. forces captured a leading Al Qaida-aligned
operative. Mullah Mahdi, also known as Abu Abdul Rahman, was said to have
been affiliated with Ansar Al Sunna and supported by Syrian intelligence.
Mahdi was said to have been responsible for the infiltration of and suicide
bombing inside a U.S. military mess hall in Mosul in 2004.
