The attack by the al-Qaida fighters south of Baghdad began when they targeted an Iraqi army patrol near the rural area of Hawr Rijab, killing three soldiers and commandeering two Humvees
The militants then drove in the Humvees to the nearby headquarters of a group of Sunnis who have turned against the terror network and formed a so-called Awakening Council.
The U.S. military has claimed a large measure of success in quelling the violence in Baqouba, which was an al-Qaida stronghold some 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. But pockets of resistance remain there and elsewhere, underlining fears about the fragility of security gains made in recent months
Iraqi security forces also found 40 decomposed bodies on Wednesday, including women and children, north of Ramadi near Lake Tharthar in an area controlled until recently by al-Qaida in Iraq.
The victims had been shot and did not have ID cards with them, although it could not be determined when they were killed, an Iraqi army officer said
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