2ND At least 50 militants killed in US-Iraqi operation


dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday January 9, 2007

Baghdad- At least 50 militants were killed Tuesday in
clashes as joint US-Iraqi forces targeted suspected terrorist cells
in Baghdad, a spokesman for the Iraqi Ministry of Defence said.
The clashes broke out at dawn Tuesday in Haifa, central Baghdad,
during the joint operation in which Iraqi and US troops were backed
by US fighter jets and military helicopters, witnesses said.

At least 21 suspects have been arrested so far including one
Egyptian and seven Syrians, according to the defence ministry
spokesman.

With the operation still underway, the joint Iraqi-US forces were
trying to regain control over the insurgent-dominated area around
Baghdad's Haifa Street.

In another development, the Iraqi government announced Tuesday the
detention of a person suspected of having made the controversial
mobile-phone camera recording of Saddam Hussein's execution.
Government spokesman Ali al-Dabagh made the announcement, saying the
suspect had been turned over to justice authorities.

Further details were not immediately available in the development
in the December 30 scandal that triggered worldwide condemnation and
the anger of Iraq's Sunni Muslims over the verbal abuse received by
the former dictator.

Meanwhile, eight people were killed and 10 others wounded as Iraqi
civilians in al-Jihad district of west of Baghdad repelled an attack
by armed men, state television channel al-Iraqiya reported.

The United Nations children's agency UNICEF confirmed Tuesday that
one of its workers was shot dead in his car as he drove through
Baghdad.

Janan Jabero, 52, an engineer, married and the father of two, was
killed on Monday evening, said a UNICEF spokesman.

The United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, warned Tuesday that
large numbers of Iraqis would continue fleeing their homes in the
coming year.

The mass displacement of Iraqis was the biggest long-term
population movement in the Middle East since the creation of the
Palestinian refugee crisis during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the
UNHCR said.

UNHCR estimates that out of a total population of 26 million, some
1.7 million Iraqis are displaced internally and up to 2 million have
fled to nearby countries.

© 2006 - dpa German Press Agency