U.S. troops disrupt bombing networks

BAGHDAD, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Coalition forces in Iraq captured 18 wanted men and suspected terrorists, military officials said Tuesday.

The officials said the apprehensions were another step in dismantling al-Qaida in Iraq's leadership structure and bombing networks, the American Forces Press Service reported.

One of those taken into custody was a man believed to be associated with a terrorist leader in Beiji, south of Mosul. In Sadiyah, northeast of Baghdad, four men thought to have connections to a senior courier in the Diyala al-Qaida network were arrested.

Other operations took place Tuesday in Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad, where a man believed to have housed suicide bombers and facilitated al-Qaida meetings was captured. Three other suspects also were detained.

The coalition forces in Tarmiyah also picked up a man suspected of training al-Qaida operatives in the making of improvised explosive devices. Four other men believed to be associates of the wanted man were detained for further questioning.