45 Qaeda-linked militants held in northern Iraq
Sunday, 25 November 2007
KIRKUK, Iraq, Nov 24 (AFP): At least 45 suspected Al-Qaeda militants have been arrested over the past 24 hours in and around the northern Iraqi oil hub of Kirkuk by United States (US) and Iraqi forces, the police said Saturday.
More then 3,500 Iraqi forces backed by hundreds of US troops carried out raids targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters around Kirkuk since Friday, police Major General Torhan Yussef told the news agency.
"Forty-five Al-Qaeda-linked militants have been arrested since Friday and police have imposed a curfew in Kirkuk," said Yussef.
Kikruk police Brigadier General Sarhad Qader said a series of raids were also conducted in Hawija, west of Kirkuk.
He said police found a large amount of illegal weapons and also dismantled a car bomb.
The operation in Kirkuk is part of an overall US-backed crackdown called Iron Hammer launched in the provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Salaheddin and Diyala.
Insurgents have regularly carried out attacks in Kirkuk, an ethnically volatile city claimed by both Kurds and Arabs.
More then 3,500 Iraqi forces backed by hundreds of US troops carried out raids targeting Al-Qaeda in Iraq fighters around Kirkuk since Friday, police Major General Torhan Yussef told the news agency.
"Forty-five Al-Qaeda-linked militants have been arrested since Friday and police have imposed a curfew in Kirkuk," said Yussef.
Kikruk police Brigadier General Sarhad Qader said a series of raids were also conducted in Hawija, west of Kirkuk.
He said police found a large amount of illegal weapons and also dismantled a car bomb.
The operation in Kirkuk is part of an overall US-backed crackdown called Iron Hammer launched in the provinces of Kirkuk, Nineveh, Salaheddin and Diyala.
Insurgents have regularly carried out attacks in Kirkuk, an ethnically volatile city claimed by both Kurds and Arabs.