US says kills 10 members of Iraq cell linked to Iran

BAGHDAD, May 6 (Reuters) The US military said it killed up to 10 militants and destroyed a torture room during a raid in a Baghdad Shi'ite bastion today.

The military said it was targeting suspected members of a cell known for smuggling sophisticated bombs from Iran.

It was the second time in as many days that US forces have conducted an operation in Sadr City, a stronghold of the Mehdi Army militia of anti-U.S. Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, in search of insurgents they accuse of procuring so-called explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran.

EFPs are a particularly lethal type of roadside bombs, which are the deadliest weapon against US forces in Iraq.

Attacks on US troops using armour-piercing EFPs have increased in recent months, reaching 65 attacks in April, according to media reports quoting Lieutenant-General Ray Odierno, commander of day-to-day operations in Iraq.

The US military believes EFPs bombs are made in neighbouring Iran, a country Washington accuses of fomenting violence in Iraq.

Tehran says it does stir trouble in Iraq.

Today's raid in Sadr City took place at 1:30 a.m. and involved air strikes by US aircraft against buildings after US forces were fired on with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, Major General William Caldwell, a US military spokesman told a news conference.

He said the US military confiscated more than 150 mortar rounds, ammunition, as well as components to make roadside bombs.

US forces also found handcuffs, a face mask and blood stains in what appeared to be a torture room, he said.

''Intelligence reports indicate that the secret cell has ties to a kidnapping network that conducts attacks within Iraq as well as interactions with rogue elements throughout Iraq and into Iran,'' he said.

A military statement said intelligence reports indicated the presence of ''suspected members of a secret cell terrorist network known for facilitating the transport of weapons and explosively formed penetrators, or EFPs, from Iran to Iraq, as well as bringing militants from Iraq to Iran for terrorist training''.

On Friday, US forces detained 16 suspected Iraqi insurgents in Sadr City during an operation against cell members accused of facilitating the transport of EFPs from Iran.

Earlier today, witnesses said six people were wounded after the US aircraft opened fire on six homes in Sadr City during the raid, reducing one to a pile of rubble.

REUTERS AB BD1749