The U.S. military in Iraq says coalition forces killed 11 suspected terrorists Thursday during an operation southeast of Baghdad.
The military says the operation in the town of Kut targeted "special groups" militants involved in attacks on coalition forces and their supporters. The term is used to describe Shi'ite fighters who have broken away from the Mahdi Army, controlled by radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
In another development, the military says coalition forces detained 19 suspects Thursday during operations targeting al-Qaida in Iraq in central and northern Iraq.
Separately, Iraqi police say a bomb blew up a bus in eastern Baghdad Thursday, killing two passengers and wounding at least 10 other people.
Also Thursday, the U.S. military announced its troops killed 12 suspected terrorists and detained 37 others during a four-day operation that ended Tuesday near Muqdadiyah, north of Baghdad.
In other news, the military said its forces detained two al-Qaida militants suspected of kidnapping three American soldiers in May.
The three soldiers were kidnapped when their patrol was ambushed south of Baghdad in an insurgent stronghold known as the "Triangle of Death." The body of one the soldiers was later discovered in the Euphrates River.
The military believes one of the suspects used his house to hide the soldiers.
The other two U.S. servicemen are still missing.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
