"This afternoon we received intelligence reports that gunmen were endangering the security of the region," said Brigadier General Abdel Karim Khalaf, referring to the Baghdad suburb of Tuwaitha. "They are al Qaeda."
"The National Police had a severe fight with them and as a result of these clashes, they killed 53 terrorists, arrested 16, burned 40 cars and seized many weapons," he said.
US military spokeswoman Lieutenant Colonel Josslyn Aberle said that US troops had arrived at the scene after the clash and had confirmed "53 suspected al Qaeda killed, 16 detained and 11 vehicles damaged. "There were also four National Police killed and nine wounded," she added.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2006