US army: Iraqi soldiers kill 3 al-Qaida suspects

Iraqi soldiers killed three suspected militants, including a top al-Qaida leader, in raids in the northern city of Mosul, the US military said Thursday. The three victims were alleged members of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaida-linked group, the US military said in a statement. One of the three was the al-Qaida in Iraq emir of Mosul, a man known as "Safi," it said. The US military released information about the raids, but said Iraqi Army soldiers conducted the operations.