US and Iraqi raid kills 80 in rebel camp

A RAID by US and Iraqi forces on a suspected rebel training camp left 80 militants dead, the single biggest one-day death toll for rebels in months and the latest in a series of blows to the country’s insurgency, Iraqi officials said yesterday.

Politicians helping shape a post-election government, expected within days, said negotiators are considering naming a Sunni Arab as defence minister in a move aimed at bringing Sunni Arabs into the political process and perhaps to deflate the insurgency they lead.

The US military announced late Tuesday its air and ground forces backed Iraqi commandos during a noon-time raid on a suspected guerrilla training camp near Lake Tharthar in central Iraq.