US Claims Victories Against Qaeda in Iraq

U.S. and Iraqi government forces in Iraq claimed a series of victories against al Qaeda militants.

U.S. and Iraqi government forces in Iraq claimed a series of victories on Sunday against al Qaeda militants in a central province that has been one of the heartlands of the Sunni militant insurgency.

U.S. forces said they had killed Salahuddin province's top al Qaeda leader, blamed for a pivotal 2006 attack on a Shi'ite shrine in Samarra that was a turning point in the conflict, and also said Iraqis had captured 80 militant suspects in the town.

Among the al Qaeda figures they said they had captured were the group's local leaders for the cities of Samarra and Tikrit, home town of ousted leader Saddam Hussein.

U.S. and Iraqi officials frequently say they have killed or captured leading al Qaeda figures, and the precise role that any particular individual may have played in the shadowy militant group is often difficult to assess.

But the announcements indicate a concerted push against al Qaeda guerrillas in Saddam's native province, the large stretch of towns and cities that runs for hundreds of kilometres along the fertile Tigris River valley north of Baghdad.

U.S. forces said they had killed provincial al Qaeda leader Haitham al-Badri and identified him as the mastermind behind two attacks on the al-Askari mosque, a Shi'ite shrine in mainly Sunni Samarra.

The first of those attacks, which destroyed the mosque's famed golden dome in February last year, was the trigger for a sharp worsening in sectarian violence that has since consumed the country, killing tens of thousands of people. The second attack destroyed the mosque's minarets six weeks ago.

Separately, an Iraqi military officer said troops had captured the al Qaeda leader for the city of Tikrit, named Talal al-Baazi and described as a deputy to Badri.

American forces said they had captured the al Qaeda leader for Samarra, whom they did not name.

The U.S. military said more than 1,000 Iraqi troops had completed a security sweep which began on July 31, arresting 80 militant suspects, and quoted the Salahuddin governor as promising a development campaign to begin in coming days.

In Baghdad, a barrage of mortar rounds fell on a petrol station crowded with Iraqis queuing for fuel at dawn, killing 11 people, wounding 15 and destroying cars. Mortar rounds also fell at another petrol station nearby, wounding six more people.

Shortages mean Iraqis often have to line up for hours for fuel, where they are frequently targeted. Suicide bombers killed 70 people near two petrol stations last Wednesday.