US, Iraqi forces detain militia fighters

Baghdad: Two militants were killed and dozens of others arrested in a military sweep through Shiite militia strongholds in the south of Baghdad.

Iraqi police said 30 suspected fighters linked to Shiite cleric Muqtada Al Sadr's Mahdi Army were grabbed in a house-to-house search in Diwaniyah on Saturday.

In Mandali, on the Iranian border, Iraqi troops arrested Maher Kamel, who confessed to taking part in a bombing near the Iranian border.

To the north of Diwaniyah, police captured leading Al Qaida member Raed Al Alwani who is wanted in the slayings of more than 100 Iraqis.

The US military said it killed one Al Qaida leader and detained three other members of the group Saturday morning during raids in the Dora neighborhood of south Baghdad.

On Diwaniyah's east side, US-led ground forces backed by two Polish army helicopters came under fire from machine guns and an anti-tank grenade launcher, the military said.

Coalition forces reported no casualties but said two militants were killed in the sweep. The prime minister met the provincial governor, who called for reinforcements to root out "the criminals."

"We do have problems in the local security forces that make it difficult to ensure security and we asked the prime minister to fill the gaps in this regard," said Governor Hamid Al Khudhari.