iraqi army units taking out al qaeda every day now

Iraqi forces kill al-Qaida commander http://www.upi.com/International_Security/Emerging_Threats/Briefing/2008/03/13/iraqi_forces_kill_al-qaida_commander/2140/ TIKRIT, Iraq, March 13 (UPI) -- Iraqi and Sons of Iraq forces conducted operations near the Iraqi city of Tikrit Thursday, killing a suspected al-Qaida commander. Intelligence reports indicated an al-Qaida commander, Ghazwn al-Jarad, was hiding out in the western Samarra, about 30 miles south of Tikrit.The police official in Salah ad-Din province told Voices of Iraq that Jarad was killed in a gun battle with the joint patrol. Salah ad-Din police forces uncovered what VOI described as a "huge weapons and explosives cache" consisting of 80 land mines, an explosive belt and various materials used to make roadside bombs. Meanwhile, Iraqi police forces defused a bomb placed near a bridge in central Kirkuk. The police discovered a rocket rigged to various wires placed near the bridge and a government accounting office. In Baghdad, an Iraqi army unit detained 14 suspects allegedly involved in a fraud and car theft ring and managed to free a hostage from his captives in a northern Baghdad suburb.