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Baghdad: Two Egyptians were arrested on Saturday following US military raids to weed out insurgents in Iraq, a US military officer said.
Meanwhile, a four-hour driving ban has been imposed in Baghdad to prevent reprisal attacks after Abu Musab Al Zarqawi's killing. A similar ban is in effect in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad, where the Al Qaida leader in Iraq was killed. Egyptians Ihab Salim and Hussam Salim were arrested early on Saturday in the town of Ana, near the Syrian border northwest of Baghdad. US military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said at least 56 raids have been carried out across Iraq since Zarqawi's death in a US air strike on Wednesday.
"Coalition forces will continue to assess and exploit information, and we will continue to take necessary actions to degrade terrorist operations in Iraq," the military in Baghdad said in a statement. However, Iraqi and US leaders believe Zarqawi's death is not likely to stop violence in Iraq. Iraqi lawmaker Bahaa Al Din Al Araji said the government expected an increase in terror attacks during the next 10 days "as a reprisal" for his death. "But at the same time his death has led the government to more information about tens of terrorists," he said. Violence continued on Saturday, with a roadside bomb killing four people and injuring 27 others in an outdoor market in Baghdad.
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