I did not see this, did you?
May 27, 10:01 AM (ET)Maybe the Iraqi people feel secure enough now, with the additional troops, to stand up to al-Qaida?
WASHINGTON (AP) - U.S. forces rescued 41 Iraqi civilians Sunday from an al-Qaida hide-out northeast of Baghdad, including some who showed signs of torture and broken bones, a senior U.S. official said.
Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said it was the largest number of detained Iraqis ever found in a single al-Qaida hide-out. Some among the 41 had been held as long as four months, he said.
[...]
Caldwell said a tip to U.S. forces from Iraqis in Diyala led to the rescue operation.
"The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida," he said. Caldwell said U.S. troops have been engaging more directly with Iraqi civilians in Diyala in recent weeks since an additional 3,000 U.S. troops entered the province.
A glimmer of hope on the horizon.
