Iraqi and US forces storm rebel hideouts in Baquba

BAQUBA/IRAQ: Iraqi army troops backed by a US battalion stormed insurgent hideouts in Baquba, hunting for the sectarian gangs that have plunged the divided city into mayhem.

The joint operation against Sunni militants came as one of Iraq's most powerful Shiite leaders, Abdel Aziz al-Hakim, was due to fly to the United States for an unprecedented meeting with US President George W Bush.

US press reports suggest that Washington is despairing of winning over Iraq's bitter Sunni minority and is planning instead to rebuild its bridges with the divided nation's Shiites in a bid to rein in their unofficial militias.

Meanwhile, insurgent and sectarian violence continued around Iraq on Saturday, killing at least nine people in attacks in the region around Baghdad.

Iraqi and US military officials said that between 30 and 35 suspects had been arrested in Baquba raids started yesterday and that a hostage had been rescued from a gang of kidnappers holed up in a Sunni neighbourhood.

An Iraqi army major, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that two of the detained suspects were Egyptians who had joined the Sunni-dominated insurgency against the US and the Shiite-led government.

The offensive came two days after the US commander in Diyala province, Colonel David Sutherland, denied media reports that Baquba had been brought to a standstill by insurgents and was beyond Iraqi government control.

Nevertheless, Saturday's operation was billed by US headquarters as an attempt to "secure" the city.