US kills 20 insurgents in western Iraq

U.S. forces in Iraq killed 20 insurgents on Saturday near the Syrian border while conducting raids on houses believed to be hideouts for al Qaeda foreign fighters, the U.S. military said.

A statement said U.S. forces found two large caches of weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds and bomb making materials, during the raids in the western town of Husayba. It said one insurgent was captured in the operation.

U.S. forces have conducted a series of operations against insurgents in the Euphrates valley in western Iraq, a key transit route from Syria to Baghdad.

More than 300 foreign fighters, mostly from Arab states, have been captured in Iraq by U.S.-led troops and Iraqi security forces since the start of April, and their nationalities include Israeli, Irish and British, a senior U.S. commander said on Thursday.