Iraq War News Updates -- October 31, 2008

U.S soldiers patrol in Baquba, Diyala province some 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad late October 31, 2008. REUTERS/Goran Tomasevic (IRAQ)

Iraqi Forces Arrest 220 Suspects In
Al Qaeda Raid -- Yahoo News/Reuters

BAGHDAD (Reuters) – Iraqi forces hunting al Qaeda members arrested 220 people in a raid in western Anbar province, a former insurgent stronghold, the province's police chief and the U.S. military said Friday.

Police backed by the Iraqi army stormed houses in the village of Owesat, in southern Anbar where they believe the Sunni Islamist insurgents were hiding, Thursday morning, Anbar police chief Major General Tareq Yusuf told Reuters.

"Those gunmen were controlling this area and they thought it would be safe for them there. We took the initiative and executed a bold raid," he said.

The area is in a zone along the Euphrates river by the border between Anbar and Babil provinces, dubbed the "triangle of death" by U.S. forces in the years after the 2003 invasion for its stubborn insurgency, although it is now quieter.

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More News On Iraq

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Oct 31 -- Reuters
Petraeus Takes Responsibility for Iraq and Afghanistan at Central Command -- Voice of America
Iraqi ministry adopts political neutrality -- International Herald Tribune
U.S. takes battle against extremists to Iraq border -- Star Tribune
Iraq violence kills 317 in October -- Times Of India
Death toll down for U.S. troops, Iraqi civilians in October -- CNN