U.S. targeting Hezbollah fighters in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- U.S. forces working alongside their Iraqi counterparts have increased pressure on Hezbollah fighters believed trained by Iranian forces, an analysis says.

U.S. special operations forces and the Iraqi military have captured six members of the Hezbollah Brigades and killed one other militant in missions targeting the group's leadership in Baghdad since Dec. 1, says a review by The Long War Journal, an online magazine examining the so-called war on terror.

The report says the U.S. special operations unit, Task Force 88, is likely behind the raids.

The Hezbollah Brigades, an affiliate of the Iranian-backed "special groups," have been high on the target list of military operations since 2006. The U.S. military has shifted its language steadily by also including the Mehdi Army on its list of "special groups" cells operating in the country.

Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr ordered his Mehdi Army to stand down following a series of raids during the summer. Sadr recently pledged to re-arm his militia as the Promised Day Brigades, though U.S. military officials have dismissed the threat.

The Iranian Quds force, a special unit in the ideologically motivated Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution, is seen as increasing its activity through its proxies in Iraq in the wake of Iraq-led summer offensives in Basra, Amarah and Baghdad's Sadr City.