 BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi troops on Monday rescued eight of 11 kidnapped tribal leaders after a gunbattle with their captors, defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told AFP. "We have rescued eight of the hostages and are working to free the others. We killed four of the kidnappers," Askari said.
| Excellent! Iraqi army once again steps up. |
The 11 tribal leaders from the restive province of Diyala were kidnapped on Sunday from northern Baghdad's Al-Shaab neighbourhood after a meeting with a top official from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office.
The US military earlier on Monday accused Arkan Hasnawi, a former Shiite militant from radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, of kidnapping the group of Shiite and Sunni leaders. It was not immediately known whether Hasnawi was among those killed in the military operation to rescue the hostages.
The US military said Hasnawi was a rogue Shiite militant who had broken away from the main Mahdi Army militia. "Arkan Hasnawi's actions clearly demonstrate he has chosen to dishonour Moqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire order and that he has joined forces with Iranian-supported special groups that are rejecting" the order, the military said. "Arkan Hasnawi and his gang of criminals continue to intimidate and terrorise innocent Iraqi citizens, taking actions that mirror the tactics used by Al-Qaeda in Iraq." |