The U.S. military says American warplanes have launched air strikes on sites in Iraq near the Syrian border, killing some 40 insurgents.
In a statement Saturday, U.S. military officials said seven missiles were fired on heavily-armed militants who were stopping and searching cars near the western town of Karabilah. Meantime, Iraqi officials said a former member of an elite commando unit Wolf Brigade blew himself up inside the unit's headquarters, killing three people.
Insurgents opened fire on a minibus carrying construction workers in Baghdad, killing at least 11 Iraqis and wounding three others.
Also today, Interior Minister Bayan Jabor praised a sweeping crackdown on insurgents in the Iraqi capital.
He says Operation Lightning has led to the arrests of 13,00 terrorists and has sharply cut the number of car bombings in the city.
Information for this report is provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
