Iraq: US military captures 33 suspects in raids

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US forces captured 33 suspected insurgents Saturday in raids in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk and along the Tigris River Valley, the military said. Among those detained was the alleged leader of a terror group responsible for planting roadside bombs in Mosul, the US military said in a statement. Another member of the group was also taken into custody, it said. West of Tarmiyah, US troops captured 20 suspects accused of having ties to a high-ranking al-Qaida in Iraq figure, the military said. Two more suspects were also arrested for alleged ties to another leader from the same group, it said. Four more suspects were detained for alleged involvement in a sniper cell that employed 35 gunmen, the statement said. In Kirkuk, five people were captured, three accused of association with an al-Qaida media cell, and two for involvement in car bomb attacks, the military said.