U.S. troops in Iraq on Tuesday captured a suspected Shiite militia leader and five associates during an operation in the city of Kut, the capital of Wasit province, the U.S. military said.
Acted upon intelligence reports, the troops surrounded a house in Kut, some 160 km southeast of Baghdad, and captured the suspect who believe to be "one of the top criminal leaders in Kut," said a military statement.
It said that the suspect is a member of the Iranian-backed "Special Groups" and believed to be involved in murders of Iraqis and U.S. soldiers.
The Special Groups are Shiite militia extremists said to be funded, trained and armed by external sources, specifically by Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps Quds Force operatives.
U.S. and some Iraqi officials have accused Iran of arming, funding and training Shiite militia in Iraq, a charge Tehran has denied.
Source:Xinhua
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