By Country / Iraq
Iraqi, U.S.-led Forces Kill 20 Militants In South
June 18, 2007
The raids took place in Maysan, where Iraqi forces (above) took charge of security from British forces in April (epa)
June 18, 2007 -- U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi special forces have killed at least 20 militants in a series of raids in southern Iraq.
The U.S. military said the overnight raids were carried out in Al-Amarah, the capital of Maysan Governorate, and the nearby town of Al-Majar al-Kabir.
Iraqi police said the clashes involved the Al-Mahdi Army, the militia commanded by radical Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
British forces handed back security control of Maysan, a predominantly Shi'ite region that borders Iran, to Iraqi security forces in April.
Elsewhere today, a policeman and a militant were killed in clashes that erupted between Iraqi police and Al-Mahdi Army fighters in Al-Nasiriyah, about 120 kilometers south of Al-Amarah.
(Reuters, AP, AFP)