US forces kill 33 insurgents in Iraq
US and Iraqi troops were involved in the predawn raid
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Tuesday, 28, Aug 2007 01:07
Thirty-three suspected insurgents have been killed in Iraq after a US army-led operation.
The military said that the predawn assault in Gobia, north of Baghdad, successfully restored "essential services" to the nearby town of Khalis after gunmen seized an irrigation canal.
Local residents had complained they had been without drinking water for a month, but engineers were unwilling to remove dirt from the canal amid ongoing sectarian violence in the region.
A Pentagon statement said 13 insurgents were killed in ground operations while a further 20 died following air support from attack helicopters.
"The objective of the mission was to open the spillway, which regulates water flow to the town of Khalis, restoring the essential service of water," an army spokesman added.
The operation comes as hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims attend a religious festival in Karbala, south of the capital.
Four people have already been killed in violence resulting from pilgrims protesting at strict security measures in place.