Today Iraqi troops rescued 8 of them and are working to free the other 3 and killing 4 of the kidnappers.
The US military earlier on Monday accused Arkan Hasnawi, a former Shiite militant from radical cleric Moqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, of kidnapping the group of Shiite and Sunni leaders.
It was not immediately known whether Hasnawi was among those killed in the military operation to rescue the hostages.
The US military said Hasnawi was a rogue Shiite militant who had broken away from the main Mahdi Army militia.
"Arkan Hasnawi's actions clearly demonstrate he has chosen to dishonour Moqtada al-Sadr's ceasefire order and that he has joined forces with Iranian-supported special groups that are rejecting" the order, the military said.
"Arkan Hasnawi and his gang of criminals continue to intimidate and terrorise innocent Iraqi citizens, taking actions that mirror the tactics used by Al-Qaeda in Iraq."
There was a time, not long ago, that if anyone was kidnapped in Iraq, they were basically written off as dead, now they not only chase the kidnappers down but within one day, the Iraqi troops have already managed to rescue 8 of the 11.
Just this morning we showed you an AP article detailing some of the changes in Iraq over the last months and this is just the latest good news to come out.
Things have been changing in Iraq for the better. The news is out there although it isn't blasted about the internet as widespread as the death tolls were last year, but some news outlets are finally reporting the good news, despite themselves.
More from Bill Roggio.
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