Iraqi troops free eight kidnapped tribal chiefs

No easy feat pulled off by the fledgling Iraqi army and a good sign that they are coming into their own.

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraqi troops on Monday rescued eight of 11 kidnapped tribal leaders after a gunbattle with their captors, defence ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari told AFP.

"We have rescued eight of the hostages and are working to free the others. We killed four of the kidnappers," Askari said.

The 11 tribal leaders from the restive province of Diyala were kidnapped on Sunday from northern Baghdad's Al-Shaab neighbourhood after a meeting with a top official from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's office.

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.