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U.S. military details successful operations

BAGHDAD - U.S. forces said they waged successful battles against both Sunni and Shiite extremists and announced Thursday they had seized two men possibly linked to the capture of three American soldiers earlier this year.

The battles around Baghdad came as the military seeks to take advantage of the improving security situation in Iraq to carry out targeted operations against extremist groups and the foreign-led al-Qaida in Iraq.

In recent weeks, U.S. forces have been fighting al-Qaida extremists in the area around Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles north of the capital. The battle against insurgent groups has steadily moved away from Anbar province and Baghdad, and is now focused on the fringes of Diyala province.

"Coalition forces killed 12 terrorists, detained 37 suspects and freed one hostage during a multi-day operation from Dec. 22 to 25 to disrupt al-Qaida networks near Muqdadiyah in the Diyala River Valley," an announcement said.

In another operation targeting a Shiite extremist group southeast of Baghdad, U.S. military forces killed 11 militants on Thursday. They were reportedly members of an extremist group that had broken away from radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army.

Al-Sadr has declared a cease-fire and said that any Mahdi Army members who do not abide by his freeze will no longer be considered members of the militia.

The cease-fire has been credited with contributing to a 60 percent decline in violence over the past six months. Other factors include an influx of thousands of U.S. troops and the formation of mostly Sunni groups who battle al-Qaida for the U.S. military.

The battle against the Shiite extremists took place in the early morning hours in Kut, 100 miles southeast of Baghdad, according to a local police officer.

The officer said eight militia members were killed; the U.S. military said that it killed an "estimated" 11 fighters.

The military also said it seized two suspects linked to the capture of three American soldiers taken during a May ambush near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. The suspects were captured in Ramadi.

The military said one of the suspects was thought to have "facilitated" the kidnapping and to have used his house to hide the soldiers. A weapon belonging to one of the U.S. soldiers was found at the home of the other suspect.

Spc. Alex Jimenez and Pvt. Byron Fouty were seized May 12 when insurgents overran a checkpoint in the volatile area south of Baghdad known.

A third soldier, Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., was also captured during the raid, but his body was found May 23 floating in the Euphrates River. Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi soldier were killed during the ambush.

[Last modified December 27, 2007, 22:50:11]