US 'kills 11 militants' in Iraq

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US forces say they have killed an estimated 11 Shia militants in a raid in the town of Kut, south-east Iraq.

The raid was said to have targeted members of a Shia group which has broken away from the Mehdi Army militia loyal to radical cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Separately, the US military said it had captured two militants suspected of involvement in a kidnapping in May.

It said it believed one of the suspects used his home to hide three abducted American soldiers.

We commend all those who honour Moqtada Sadr's ceasefire pledge US military spokesman Major Winfield Danielson

The US Army said its troops were attacked in Kut by "direct enemy fire" from assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. The soldiers returned fire and called in air support, it said.

US and Iraqi officials say violence has dropped sharply in Baghdad and southern Iraq, partly thanks to Mr Sadr's declaration of a six-month ceasefire in August.

"We commend all those who honour Moqtada Sadr's ceasefire pledge," said US military spokesman Maj Winfield Danielson in a statement about the Kut operation.

"Significant progress has been made in the fight for a secure and stable Iraq, but dangerous criminal elements still exist."