A force of 1,000 US soldiers launched Operation 'Iron Fist' in and around the village of Sadah in the restive Euphrates Valley on Saturday, the latest offensive aimed at rooting out Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents in the border region.

"Coalition Forces, including helicopters from 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, engaged and killed eight armed terrorists in fighting early in the day October 1," said a US military statement.

Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed the abduction of two US marines involved in the offensive and gave the US military 24 hours to release Muslim female prisoners, Al-Jazeera television reported.

The Qatar-based news channel said the claim and ultimatum came in an Internet statement issued by Abu Maysara al-Iraqi, purported spokesman for Al-Qaeda Organization in the Land of Two Rivers.

The statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, said "the abducted marines were in one of the US patrols taking part in the so-called Operation 'Iron Fist' against gunmen in western Iraq," Al-Jazeera reported.

The group of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi gave the Americans a 24-hour ultimatum to "release Muslim women in Iraqi prisons," it added.

It was not clear what would happen to the Americans if the ultimatum was not complied with.

When asked about the claim, a US military spokesman in Baghdad said that "As of now, we have no information to release."

The offensive is "intended to deny Al-Qaeda in Iraq terrorists the ability to operate freely in the Euphrates River Valley and to prevent the terrorists from influencing the local population through murder and intimidation," the military said.

In mid-September, US and Iraqi forces mounted a large-scale operation to recapture the town of Tal Afar, in northwestern Iraq, which had fallen under the sway of insurgents.

The United States has long accused Syria of not doing enough to stop foreign fighters crossing into Iraq, charges Damascus denies.

The operation, also aimed at improving security ahead of the vote on the country's post-Saddam Hussein constitution, came as the militia of radical cleric Moqtada Sadr said they had freed the interior minister's kidnapped brother.

A spokesman for the Shiite leader said that members of the Mehdi Army had freed Bayan Baqer Sulagh's brother, Abdul Jabar, after he was abducted on Saturday.

"Four members of the Mehdi Army, who were patrolling near Sadr City... saw a suspect car without license plates. They followed them and the occupants opened fire," said Abbas al-Rubaie.

During the chase, the car's occupants "opened the car door and threw out" Abdul Jabar, he said.

"He was very happy to be freed but also terrified by what happened to him," he said, adding that "I think he was kidnapped for money and not for political reasons."

Sulagh was taken to Sadr organisation offices in the populous Shiite district, he said. There was no other confirmation of the release.

Sulagh, a doctor who heads the Sadr City hospital in Baghdad and who specializes in paediatrics, was abducted by armed men who blocked his car.

Speaking in Jordan ahead of the reported release, the minister suggested the kidnappers aimed to pressure him.

"I think the kidnapping was aimed at putting pressure on me and is linked to my visit to Jordan," he said, without elaborating.

In Baghdad, the director general of the ministry of municipalities and public works, Safaa Mohammed Jassim, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen as he drove his car in the west of the city, an interior ministry official said.

A police captain was killed by unidentified gunmen in another attack in western Baghdad, he added, while a civilian was killed and six wounded when four mortar shells fell around the interior ministry.

Three bomb explosions were reported elsewhere in Baghdad, including one involving a remote-controlled booby-trapped car which blew up as bomb disposal experts approached it. There were no injuries.

The wife of a policeman was shot dead and her son wounded in Kirkuk when gunmen tried to kill her husband as the family were out in a car, police said.

Hundreds of members of Iraq's majority Shiite population have been killed in attacks since Al-Qaeda frontman Abu Musab al-Zarqawi's group last month declared all-out war on Shiites.

There are fears of an upsurge in violence by Sunni-led insurgents with just two weeks to go before Iraqis vote on a post-Saddam constitution that has deeply divided the country's ethnic communities.

Government statistics obtained by AFP showed that the number of Iraqis killed in attacks in September was a third up on August, rising from 526 to 702, most of them civilians.

Those killed fell victim to one motorbike and 32 car bombs, 50 shootings, two walk-in suicide bombers and several mortar attacks.

Related Links
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express