US troops kill eight and capture sx militants during raids in Baghdad

U.S. troops killed eight suspected militants and captured six others in raids in and around Baghdad on Wednesday morning, the military said.

Photo: US troops kill eight and capture sx militants during raids in Baghdad

U.S. intelligence reports indicated that militants linked to small arms fire and rocket attacks on American troops were operating northeast of Taji, a town on the northern outskirts of Baghdad, the military said in a statement.

Eight people were killed when American helicopters and fighter planes fired on a palm grove there, the statement said. Two suspects were detained.

Four more suspects were captured in Baghdad, the military said.

The raids targeted al-Qaida in Iraq, and locals suspected of harboring militants, it said.

In another statement, the U.S. military said paratroopers seized a weapons cache Monday near Mahmoudiyah, a mostly Shiite area about 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of Baghdad, the AP reports.

The weapons were found in an insurgent safe house, and included three AK-47s, two grenades and more than a dozen ammunition rounds, the statement said.

The military also said two hostages were freed from the house, but did not provide additional details.