The U.S. military said on Monday that its troops started a major military operation targeting Sunni and Shiite extremists throughout Iraq.
The major offensive, dubbed "Operation Phantom Strike," consists of simultaneous operations across Iraq focused on Sunni militants linked to al-Qaida in Iraq network and Iranian-backed Shi'ite militiamen, the military said in a statement.
The statement did not provide further details about where exactly the operation will take place, but said the Iraqi security forces would take part in the operation.
Meanwhile, another military statement said that the U.S. troops detained 17 suspected senior leaders of al-Qaida in Iraq network during synchronized operations on Sunday and Monday in Tikrit, 170 km north of Baghdad, and Mosul, 400 km north of the capital.
Earlier, the military said that its troops on Monday captured a suspected leader and a key financier of the Iranian-backed Shi'ite militia in a predawn raid in Baghdad's southern neighborhood of Bayaa.
The detained leader is believed to be the key financier of the "Special Groups that are believed to have direct ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps - Quds Force (IRGC-QF)," the statement said.
"These Special Groups terrorists are suspected of killing Iraqi citizens, directing attacks against Coalition Forces, and promoting sectarian violence," the military said.
The U.S. forces frequently accuse Iran of arming and training Iraqi militia to fight with U.S. troops, but Iranian officials have denied such allegations.
Source: Xinhua
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