Coalition forces discovered a car-bomb manufacturing center and captured a number of people connected to the operation during two raids in south Baghdad, the BBC reports:

A large cache of weapons and cash was also found at the unidentified site, a US military statement said. Bomb-making equipment, weapons and ammunition were found in raids at other locations - and 51 people have been taken in for questioning. ...

The US said the Baghdad raid uncovered vehicles loaded with explosives for use as car bombs. ... On another raid, US soldiers found "partially assembled improvised explosive devices, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, eight RPG [rocket propelled grenade] rounds, approximately 50 pounds of C-4 explosives, TNT, five blasting caps, one detonator and other various munitions".

Coalition forces think they captured most of the key people involved in this ring, including the financier, the bombmaker, and the triggerman. No one thinks that this is the only gang building and setting off carbombs in Baghdad, of course, but capturing one is good progress. It also comes coincidentally close to the handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government, which suggests that Coalition forces may be getting better intelligence from Iraqi civilians now that they feel in charge of their own nation again.

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