Two Apache helicopter air strikes killed three terrorists near Maderiyah during Operation Marne Thunderbolt on the night of Jan. 4 and the morning of Jan. 5.
In the first strike on Jan. 4, soldiers of the 3rd Infantry Division’s Battery B, 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery Regiment, saw two suspects digging and lacing weapons caches in a canal.
The soldiers called for air support from the 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade’s 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment. When the terrorists heard the Apaches overhead, they fled to a nearby building. The helicopters engaged the terrorists with machine guns. A reconnaissance of the area confirmed both were killed.
The following day, soldiers reported another man digging in numerous spots in the same area on the canal. The man was identified as a terrorist and was engaged by Apache helicopters.
Hellfire missiles were fired, into the area where the terrorist was digging, to destroy any possible caches or explosives buried beneath the ground. The missiles produced secondary explosions confirming that munitions were hidden there.
