US forces net 72 al-Qaeda suspects
Afp, Baghdad
US forces captured at least 72 suspects linked to al-Qaeda and seized bomb-making materials in a series of raids in two Iraqi provinces yesterday, the military said. The raids were carried out in the restive Anbar and Salaheddin provinces of Iraq in an attempt to "disrupt the al-Qaeda network," it said in a statement. In the biggest raid, the military netted 36 suspects with links to al-Qaeda in the town of Samarra in Salaheddin province, north of Baghdad, the military said. Troops also found 20 five-gallon drums of nitric acid and other bomb-making materials near Garmah, close to the former rebel bastion of Fallujah in Anbar province of western Iraq. US and Iraqi troops carry out raids almost daily in flashpoint regions in a bid to quell the daily bloodshed in the war-torn country. Insurgents have continued to attack both security forces and civilians. On Saturday, a suicide car bombing in the Shia shrine city of Karbala, central Iraq, killed 71 people.
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