US military kills 11 Mahdi Army members

US TROOPS killed 11 members of a Mahdi army splinter group yesterday, US officials said. The military also announced that it had detained two more suspects in the capture of three US soldiers earlier this year.

One of the suspects is thought to have “facilitated” the kidnapping of the American soldiers taken during a May ambush near Youssifiyah, about 19km south of Baghdad, and to have used his house to hide the soldiers, the military said in a statement.

A weapon belonging to one of the soldiers was found at the residence of the other suspect. The men were detained on Monday and Tuesday in Ramadi, the military said.