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Iraq 'al-Qaeda militants' killed | Iraq 'al-Qaeda militants' killed |
(40 minutes later) | |
The US military says it has killed 20 suspected al-Qaeda militants in a ground and air assault in central Iraq. | The US military says it has killed 20 suspected al-Qaeda militants in a ground and air assault in central Iraq. |
The air strike was ordered after troops came under fire in the Thar Thar area, north of Baghdad, a statement said. | The air strike was ordered after troops came under fire in the Thar Thar area, north of Baghdad, a statement said. |
Local officials said more than two dozen civilians had been killed in the strike, including women and children. | |
Elsewhere, more than 1,000 Danish and UK troops stormed homes in Basra, in a raid the UK military described as the biggest of its kind in southern Iraq. | Elsewhere, more than 1,000 Danish and UK troops stormed homes in Basra, in a raid the UK military described as the biggest of its kind in southern Iraq. |
The US military also confirmed that a US soldier died in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad on Thursday. | The US military also confirmed that a US soldier died in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad on Thursday. |
Women killed | Women killed |
The US military said its operation, in the Thar Thar area of Salahuddin province, had been based on intelligence reports indicating people with links to al-Qaeda in Iraq were working in the area. | The US military said its operation, in the Thar Thar area of Salahuddin province, had been based on intelligence reports indicating people with links to al-Qaeda in Iraq were working in the area. |
Ground forces were searching a cluster of buildings when they were targeted with machine gun fire, the military said in a statement. | Ground forces were searching a cluster of buildings when they were targeted with machine gun fire, the military said in a statement. |
The troops returned fire and killed two suspected insurgents, the military said, but continued to come under fire. | The troops returned fire and killed two suspected insurgents, the military said, but continued to come under fire. |
The air strike was then ordered, in which another 18 suspected militants died. Among them were two women. | The air strike was then ordered, in which another 18 suspected militants died. Among them were two women. |
On searching the site, US troops found a weapons cache containing "machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests", the statement said. | On searching the site, US troops found a weapons cache containing "machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, anti-personnel mines, explosives, blasting caps and suicide vests", the statement said. |
Amer Alwan, mayor of the Ishaqi district by Lake Thar Thar, told reporters that US aircraft had bombed two houses, killing 32 people, most of them women and children. | Amer Alwan, mayor of the Ishaqi district by Lake Thar Thar, told reporters that US aircraft had bombed two houses, killing 32 people, most of them women and children. |
Local police also confirmed the deaths of civilians but the number was uncertain. | Local police also confirmed the deaths of civilians but the number was uncertain. |
'Rogue elements' | 'Rogue elements' |
The joint British and Danish operation, launched before dawn, led to the arrest of five Iraqis in the Hartha district of the city of Basra. | The joint British and Danish operation, launched before dawn, led to the arrest of five Iraqis in the Hartha district of the city of Basra. |
British and Danish troops stormed five houses in a pre-dawn raid | |
Major Charlie Burbridge, a British spokesman for the coalition forces, said the men detained "were strongly linked with various criminal activities: kidnapping, murder and attacks on multinational forces". | Major Charlie Burbridge, a British spokesman for the coalition forces, said the men detained "were strongly linked with various criminal activities: kidnapping, murder and attacks on multinational forces". |
He described them as "five leaders of rogue elements of militias operating in Basra". | He described them as "five leaders of rogue elements of militias operating in Basra". |
There were no coalition casualties and no evidence that civilians had been hurt, Maj Burbridge said. It is not yet clear whether any suspected militants were injured in the raids. | There were no coalition casualties and no evidence that civilians had been hurt, Maj Burbridge said. It is not yet clear whether any suspected militants were injured in the raids. |
Weapons were found in the properties, including artillery shells already wired up for use as roadside bombs, he added. | Weapons were found in the properties, including artillery shells already wired up for use as roadside bombs, he added. |
A local spokesman for radical Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr's movement warned of reprisals following the raid, the AFP news agency reports. | |
The UK has 7,200 troops in the south of Iraq, mostly stationed in and around Basra. |