A special Iraqi army unit backed by US troops killed one militant and arrested six people during operations against a death squad leader in a Baghdad Shia stronghold yesterday.
The target, who appears to have evaded capture, was believed to lead a group of 100 militants who conducted kidnappings and killings from Sadr City.
The US military said that three more US troops died in fighting this week, raising to 54 the number of Americans killed in Iraq in December. The month is shaping up to be one of the deadliest for Americans since the war started.
At least 25 of the US troops killed this month died in the vast stretch of desert that extends from the capital to the borders with Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The large number of casualties reflects the strength of Sunni insurgents, including al-Qa'ida in Iraq, in the region, even as violence in Baghdad shifts to a fight between Sunni and Shia extremists.
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/article2081647.ece
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