Coalition finds terrorists, bombs Basra

BASRA, Iraq, March 28 (UPI) -- Coalition forces killed two terrorists and arrested 17 suspects Friday in an operation targeting al-Qaida in Iraq, the U.S. military said Friday.

The Multi-National Forces targeted an al-Qaida in Iraq financial manager in Tuz Khurmatu and a suspected leader of a suicide bombing cell, an MNF spokesman said in a release. One man died in an exchange of gunfire.

In Baghdad, coalition forces conducted two operations, capturing a suspected car bomber and an individual allegedly linked to al-Qaida in Iraq senior leaders.

Coalition forces bombed the southern Iraqi city of Basra, where government and Iraqi forces have been fighting Shiite militias since Tuesday, British military sources said.

Air strikes -- the first by U.S. warplanes in Basra -- were made at the request of the Iraqi Army, The New York Times reported.

In Washington, President George Bush said Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's decision to move into Basra "shows even-handed justice, shows he's willing to go after those who believe they're outside the law."

The action is "a test and a moment" for the Iraqi government, Bush said during a joint news conference with Australia Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.