0500 patroling with a new group.

Up and at em in Baghdad. 5am brought us out on patrol, raiding a dudes house. The guy we were after was reported to be some sort of chemist. Using his skills to make IED's for insurgents.

We rolled up as the sun was coming up, and we waited as a platoon courdened off the area, and boosted the Iraqi Police over his rusted iron gate, once we were in we simply knocked on the door and went in. After a preliminary search, and asking some questions, we found a locked door in the back that the residents claimed they had no key for. Luckily one of our troops was wearing a very large key on his foot. The door opened into a VERY dirty looking bedroom stocked with clothes, bottled water, supplies, and maps. I was told that it appeared to be a safe room for when traveling Jihadists were in the area.

The room was VERY dirty, and covered in a very thick layer of dust dirt and spider webs. It looked like something out of Indiana Jones. The only marks in the dirt were from our boot prints. It was plainly obvious that whoever this room was for, they had not been there in a while.

Since no laws had been broken, and the house occupant did not match the description, we thanked him for his time and left peacfully.

We then realised that the man we were looking for was possibly in the house next door. You see, Iraqi neighborhoods had a habit of changing frequently in the last couple of years. Iraqis can build their own homes in a matter of weeks. Now they need permission from the Iraqi Army before they can move in or out of a neighborhood, but for a while house could just spring up. So the house we were looking for was next door.

Again we searched and questioned the occupants, You need to be very carefull when entering a house at night or in the morning, as most people here seem to sleep on the floor. They also wrap baby's up in blankets on the floor as well, so if you are not carefull you could walk in and step on kids. So soldiers are always VERY carefull when entering.

This house was ALOT nicer than the last one. It still smelled like a toilet in a dumpster, but it was a step up. This guy seemed to be some sort of mechanic, engine parts, and gas cans, big empty jugs laying around the yard. He also had pet birds. This was the first time I'd seen an Iraqi with a pet.

This guy fit the bill of the Chemist we were looking for, but he was not talking very much. While searching the house we also found a small white cell phone under a mattress. The guy had no idea where the phone came from, but his wife was claiming that someone had dropped it off for him to fix. She seemed very nervous. After having our translator check the numbers and the text messages, it turned out THIS phone was hers, and it was to communicate with her secret boyfriend. I wont get into details, but I can tell you this. The messages were very dirty. Like bathroom wall at a Mesquite truck stop dirty.

We kept the phone, and by doing so, probably saved this chicks life. After taling to her a little more, I was told that she gave up the goods on her hubby and he was taken into custody.

After that, it was back to my new home at JSS Khadra.