United States and Iraqi forces said on Monday they had killed 47 suspected insurgents, including an al-Qaeda member wanted over the downing of a US helicopter, and arrested about 260 in weekend raids.
The wanted man, Abu Mustafa, was killed along with 15 other alleged rebels in a series of raids “supported by fire from helicopters” on Latifiyah, south of Baghdad, on Saturday and Sunday, the US military said.
“Abu Mustafa was also a known weapons smuggler who allegedly facilitated the movement of missiles and rockets within the al-Qaeda terrorist network,” it said, adding that it made eight arrests in the raids.
Two US servicemen died in the April crash of an Apache helicopter, which US forces said Mustafa organised.
Another 25 insurgents were killed in a separate attack on an insurgent “safe haven” in Latifiyah on Sunday, the military said.
The Iraqi defence ministry, meanwhile, said its forces had killed two insurgents and arrested 42 in operations in Latifiyah over the last 24 hours, while another 23 were arrested in the restive city of Ramadi.
Meanwhile, a joint US-Iraqi force killed four insurgents, including two foreigners, in raids near Tal Afar in north-western Iraq over the last 24 hours, the ministry said, adding that 165 suspects were arrested.
Another 12 suspected insurgents were arrested in three other minor operations, the ministry said. — AFP