BAGHDAD: Iraqi police commandos killed 53 suspected Al-Qaeda militants in a fierce gunbattle on the southern outskirts of Baghdad on Saturday, an interior ministry spokesman said.
"This afternoon we received intelligence reports that gunmen were endangering the security of the region," said Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, referring to the Baghdad suburb of Tuwaitha. "They are Al-Qaeda."
"The National Police had a severe fight with them and as a result of these clashes, they killed 53 terrorists, arrested 16, burned 40 cars and seized many weapons," he said.
A US military spokeswoman said there had been a clash and that American liaison officers were on the scene following the fighting, but she could not immediately confirm either details of the fight or the casualty toll.
