US, Iraqi troops kill more than 20 foreign rebels

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – U.S. and Iraqi forces killed more than
20 foreign insurgents, several of them wearing suicide vests,
during raids south of Baghdad in the past few weeks, the U.S.
military said on Sunday.

The raids took place in and around Yusifiya, a village 15
km (9 miles) south of Baghdad, which insurgents have used as a
staging area for suicide attacks in Baghdad, the military said
in a statement.

A U.S. combat helicopter was presumably shot down in the
Yusifiya area on April 1, killing its two pilots.

U.S. and Iraqi forces captured seven wanted insurgents and
detained more than 50 other suspects on Saturday during raids
on locations believed to be safe houses for foreign fighters
and al Qaeda-linked leaders, the military said.

In a rare Internet video posted earlier this week, Iraq’s
al Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who Washington blames
for most of the bloody suicide attacks, denounced the new Iraqi
government and warned of “more painful” attacks.

Building strong Iraqi security forces to fight Sunni rebels
and sectarian violence that has pushed Iraq to the brink of
civil war is a cornerstone of Washington’s plan to start
withdrawing U.S. troops, which now number roughly 133,000.

Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie told Reuters on Friday
that the U.S.-trained Iraqi forces now played a “lead role” in
60 percent of military operations in Iraq.