US and Iraqi troops kill and capture men responsible for mass killing of Shia

Stars and Stripes:

More than a dozen insurgents suspected in the mass killing of 18 Shiites last week were arrested or killed Friday after U.S. and Iraqi army soldiers spent several hours chasing them through the rural farmland north of Baghdad.

The insurgents were spotted Friday in the flat and lawless area known to U.S. soldiers as “Road Warrior land,” which runs along a historic dividing line between the mostly Shiite areas of northwestern Baghdad and the Sunni villages of Diyala province.

Iraqi soldiers began chasing the team of insurgents after finding them loaded into seven cars roaming a main road and trying to hijack a cement truck early Friday afternoon.

After the insurgents scattered, about 200 Iraqi soldiers and nearly 100 U.S. troops scoured the area and eventually killed four, wounded one, detained 10 and pushed three others into the hands of local armed villagers, soldiers said.

“This is going to have a huge impact,” said Lt. Col. Thomas Fisher, commander of the 1st Battalion, 68th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. “These are the people who have been causing a lot of problems and to have them out of the way is going to really help to settle things down.”

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There is probably some reason why this story did not make the front page of the NY Times.