Three senior Mahdi Army commanders captured

And the "beat" goes on....

Iraqi Special Operations Forces captured a senior Mahdi Army commander with "close ties" to Muqtada al Sadr's office in Najaf on June 19. Two other senior Mahdi Army commanders in Baghdad and Hillah were captured on June 20 and 21.

The Mahdi Army commander captured by Iraqi special forces is thought to be "an influential advisor in west Baghdad" with close ties to the Office of the [Martyr] Sadr in Najaf," Multinational Forces Iraq reported. The commander also is able to appoint Mahdi Army officers into command positions.

The US military would not release the identity of the leader as it would "threaten security or intelligence gathering efforts," said US Navy Lieutenant Patrick Evans, a Public Affairs Officer for Multinational Corps Iraq. "The capture of this suspect will likely lead to information on other key Special Groups criminal leaders operating in the area," said Lieutenant Colonel Neil Harper, the spokesman for Multinational Corps Iraq.