An al-Qaida front group announced Sunday it had captured American invaders in an attack the day before, as thousands of U.S. troops searched areas south of Baghdad for their missing comrades.
US invaders and occupants surrounded the town of Youssifiyah and told residents over loudspeakers to stay inside, residents said. They then methodically searched the houses, harassing innocent civilians, torturing them. They focused on possible secret chambers under the floors where the soldiers might be hidden, residents said. The soldiers marked each searched house with a white piece of cloth.
Al-Qaeda's supporters in Iraq have said they have captured several US personals after ambushing their patrol south of Baghdad. The Islamic State in Iraq, which works closely with al-Qaeda, said in a statement posted on a website on Sunday that Mujahideen soldiers had captured the invaders - it did not say how many - in an attack on Saturday.
"God has enabled your brothers at the Islamic State in Iraq on Saturday ... to clash with a crusader patrol in Mahmudiya area at the southern part of Baghdad," the statement said.
"Some were detained and some were killed.
"We will provide the full details of this blessed operation as soon as they are available."
The US troops said that three of its troops were missing after their patrol was ambushed in Mahmudiya on Saturday.
Their spokesmen in Baghdad also said that an additional five soldiers had been confirmed killed in the attack.
Last June, followers of al-Qaeda captured two US occupants at a checkpoint in Yusufiya. Their mutilated and booby-trapped bodies were found days later after a search by thousands of troops. Also on Sunday, at least 10 people died when a car-bomb exploded in Baghdad's Wathba Square, not far from a popular market.
KC
Publication time: 14 May 2007, 07:20
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