U.S. Raid Frees 42 Al Qaeda Captives in Iraq

U.S. troops freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis from an al Qaeda hideout in Diyala province, north of Baghdad yesterday. Some of the prisoners had been tortured for months, including some who had broken bones and had been hung from the ceiling, AP reports. One captive said he was 14 years old.

The U.S. forces were tipped off by a local resident; military officials say Iraqis in the turbulent province are turning against Sunni insurgents and beginning to trust American troops. Another American was killed in Diyala yesterday, however, bringing the Iraq death toll to 102 American troops killed in May alone. (More al-Qaeda in Iraq stories.)