Iraqi Interior Ministry: 15 Sunni insurgents killed and five arrested in airborne operation

Iraqi police stand around the lifeless body of a man killed during the raid, said to be a foreign militant from Afghanistan

BAGHDAD, Iraq: Elite Iraqi police forces dropped off by U.S. helicopters staged a raid against an al-Qaida-linked Sunni militant group on Saturday, killing 15 insurgents and capturing five others, the Interior Ministry said.

The quick-reaction Iraqi force, backed by gunfire from the helicopters, met fierce resistance from the members of the militant group who were hiding in two abandoned houses in the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Dora in southern Baghdad, ministry spokesman Abdul-Karim Khalaf said.

The U.S. military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Khalaf said 15 insurgents were killed and five others were captured during the operation that was targeting the militant group known as the Omar Brigade, which Khalaf said was behind a series of kidnappings and killings aimed at driving Shiites from the neighborhood.

"We were provided with helicopter support by our friends in the multinational forces and we did not suffer any casualties," Khalaf said.

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