By Country / Iraq
U.S. Says Captured Militant Has Iran Ties
May 26, 2007
May 26, 2007 -- U.S. forces have captured a suspected militant and killed five
others in the Baghdad Shi'ite stronghold of Al-Sadr City.
In a statement, the U.S. military said the captured man has ties to Iran's Revolutionary Guards and was involved with a terrorist network "known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators from Iran to Iraq."
The U.S. military said the five militia fighters were killed in air strikes on nine cars that were positioning themselves to attack U.S. forces after the raid.
The U.S. military has repeatedly accused Iran of supporting Shi'ite militias in Iraq.
The U.S. military has also announced that two soldiers died on May 25 in Iraq.
One soldier was killed by a roadside bomb in Diyala Governorate, northeast of Baghdad, while a second soldier was killed during a gun battle on the outskirts of Baghdad.
More than 3,440 troops have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003.
(Reuters, AP, AFP)