US, Iraqi troops find Qaeda prison camp in Iraq

BAGHDAD, May 28 (Reuters) US and Iraqi troops raided a suspected al Qaeda prison camp north of Baghdad and freed 41 men, some of whom said they had been held for four months, the US military said today.

The air and ground operation on Sunday followed a tip-off from a local resident. The camp was six miles south of Baquba in Diyala province, where many insurgents have set up new bases to escape a major security crackdown in Baghdad.

''The individuals, who were living in a small, concrete and mud compound ... were sleeping in cramped rooms on dirty blankets and pillows,'' the military said in a statement.

Iraqi police confirmed the raid and said the whereabouts of the prisoners' captors were not known.

Al Qaeda militants typically kill their captives soon after abducting them and have not been known to operate such camps.

The US military said the freed men had been taken to a nearby combat outpost, where they had been given food and water.

Diyala, a large, ethnically mixed region northeast of Baghdad, has seen some of the worst violence since the US-led invasion in 2003. Violence has surged further in recent months and the US commander in the region has asked for more troops.

Reuters SS DB1249