U.S. forces, Iraqi police arrest 11 in raid

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. forces and Iraqi police raided an area west of Baghdad on Saturday and arrested 11 people suspected of links to insurgents, witnesses said following the bloodiest day of attacks against American forces in a month.

Meanwhile, efforts to get oil from the large fields of northern Iraq hit a new hitch Saturday. The flow of oil through the main pipeline from the north to Turkey resumed for the first time since August, but ran for only two hours before a leak was discovered and the pipeline had to be shut down again.

Eight men and three women were taken into custody during the raids, which began before dawn around the flashpoint town of Khaldiyah in the "Sunni Triangle" west of Baghdad, according to local residents. The Sunni Muslim areas north and west of Baghdad have been the scene of most attacks against American troops.

There was no comment from U.S. authorities about the raids, which took place one day after U.S. forces suffered four deaths in two separate attacks - the bloodiest daily death toll since Sept. 18, when three soldiers were killed in an ambush in Tikrit. Nearly 20 soldiers were reported wounded in several clashes across the country.

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