US-led forces arrest 65 suspected insurgents in Baghdad raid

BAGHDAD - US and Iraq forces rounded up 65 suspected insurgents in a pre-dawn raid in southeastern Baghdad on Monday, the US military said.
About 100 US and Iraq forces on foot and in military vehicles raided houses and buildings in the Rashid district around 5 am (0100 GMT), said Lieutenant Colonel Clifford Kent, a spokesman for the US Army's Third Infantry Division in Baghdad.
"Intelligence sources confirmed that everybody who was detained today was part of a certain terrorist organization," Kent said, but declined to elaborate.
The US military has been working directly with newly-trained Iraq army brigades to help them take over security duties so that Washington can start reducing its troop levels.
US and Iraqi forces claim to have netted more insurgents since the November offensive on the former rebel bastion of Fallujah west of Baghdad due to increased intelligence and the growing confidence of Iraq forces.

04/11/2005 11:29 GMT