US finds shackled bodies in Iraq Al Qaida sweep

Baghdad: The US military said on Tuesday its troops had killed 12 suspected Al Qaida fighters and found two shackled bodies in a makeshift detention facility.

"The ground force discovered an Al Qaida in Iraq detention facility which contained the bodies of two additional men bound in shackles and believed to have been executed," the US military said in a statement.

It said it appeared the men had been killed before US troops arrived. It was the second such find announced by the US military this week.

At least ten militants were killed during raids along the Tigris River north and south of Baghdad on Sunday and Monday.

Another suspected Al Qaida fighter was killed during raids in Mosul, north of Baghdad, and another was killed south of Baghdad, the US military said.

On Monday, the US military said it had found an "execution site" and torture room during raids against Al Qaida along the Diyala River valley north of Baghdad.