U.S., Iraqi Forces Kill, Capture Insurgents in Raids

At approximately 6 p.m. local time yesterday, coalition forces killed two al Qaeda terrorists involved in foreign fighter facilitation. The troops tracked the two to a location near Taji, and killed the terrorists before they could react, U.S. officials said.

Abu Usamah, one of the two killed and the troops' primary target, was allegedly involved in suicide and car-bomb attacks, as well as foreign fighter facilitation.

No civilians were injured during the operation.

In a separate operation, combined forces raided multiple locations near Yusifiyah based on information and intelligence regarding the whereabouts of foreign terrorists, foreign terrorist facilitators, operatives and leaders affiliated with the al Qaeda network, U.S. officials said.

The comprehensive operation was conducted to deny safe haven and to kill or capture foreign and Iraqi terrorists who have been operating in the region, officials said. Over the past several weeks, terrorists, most of them foreign, have used the hostile region as a staging area to launch suicide operations into Baghdad, they said.

Iraqi and Coalition forces have conducted several previous raids in the area in the past few weeks, resulting in the death of more than 20 foreign terrorists. Several of the terrorists were wearing suicide vests when the assault forces killed them.

In a related issue, officials provided updated information that of 12 terrorists killed in an April 25 raid in Yusifiyah, at least five and as many as 10 of the terrorists were confirmed to be foreigners.

In other news from Iraq, a car bomb detonated near Qaim April 28, killing three Iraqi civilians.

"Our thoughts are with the families of the innocent civilians who lost their lives," Marine Lt. Col. Bryan F. Salas, a Multinational Force West spokesman, said.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq news releases.)