LOC16:30
13:30 GMT
BAGHDAD, Aug 11 (KUNA) -- The Multi-National Force (MNF) and Iraqi police
said Saturday 10 terror suspects were killed and ten others were detained in
separate operations against senior leaders of al-Qaeda in central and northern
Iraq.
The operations on Friday and Saturday led to the killing of two Qaeda
terrorists and the arrest of ten others, said a US military statement.
The statement said MNF conducted a precision operation in a rural area
southwest Balad Friday against a cell of leading members of al-Qaeda
Organization in Iraq.
Intelligence reports indicated this cell was attempting to establish a
terrorist hub in the area, and was linked to the July 16 suicide bombing that
killed 80 Iraqis in Kirkuk.
In a separate operation a US gunship tracked down a suspected minibus and
hit it with a missile after failure of the driver to stop, the statement added.
The attack killed eight power technicians on the minibus, who were on they
way to fix a power grid south Samerra, and injured two others, an Iraqi police
source told KUNA.
Meanwhile, the US army said in another statement one of the Lightning
Taskforce was killed Friday in a non-combat incident.
The incident is under investigation, the statement noted, without
elaborating on the site of the incident.
The US fatality brought to 3,683 the number of US troops who lost their
lives since the start of Iraq war in March, 2003. (end)
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