American forces killed 11 Shiite gunmen during operations early on Thursday in the city of Kut, 170 km southeast of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. According to Reuters, the military said in a statement the operations targeted "special groups criminal networks," a term it often uses to describe members of the Shi'ite Mehdi Army militia.
The operation targeted a militant "reportedly responsible for attacks against coalition forces and supporters of coalition forces", the U.S. military said.
Meanwhile, gunmen shot dead two US soldiers and wounded three others in the northern Iraqi province of Nineveh, the US military declared.
