'Nine militants killed' in Iraq

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The US military in Iraq says American and Iraqi forces killed nine suspected al-Qaeda fighters in a raid near Talafar in Ninewa province last Sunday.

Three Iraqi troops were killed in the operation, which the US said targeted a suspected militant training camp.

The Americans said militants based at the camp had carried out assassinations and roadside bomb attacks throughout the Talafar area.

It said troops had found bomb-making equipment and weapons at the scene.

In another operation, US soldiers shot and killed a man who was said to have drawn a pistol and then tried to detonate an explosives vest.

US and Iraqi government forces are pushing to take control of Ninewa province, where correspondents say insurgent fighters are making a stand after their influence diminished in Baghdad and other areas during 2007.