Iraqi commandos seize rebel base, kill dozens of militants

Baghdad's Interior Ministry said skirmishes continued in the area following Tuesday's battle, which took place in a deserted region near a lake 100 miles northwest of Baghdad.

The fighting came as politicians in Baghdad pushed on with talks to decide the make-up of a government more than seven weeks after the election, amid growing frustration among Iraqis who risked their lives to vote.

A commander of the specialist police unit that led the fighting near Tharthar lake said at least 45 militants had been killed and that the majority of them were Syrians and Saudis, according to their identity cards.

"Yesterday ... we attacked a terrorist gathering near Tharthar lake. The battle lasted for one hour and we called for American backup. Helicopters came and attacked the terrorists," Lieutenant-Colonel Sarmad Hassan Kamel told Reuters.

"Forty five Arabs were killed, Saudis and Syrians, but there were (also) other Iraqis," he said.

The US military confirmed a battle had taken place and that US forces were involved, but a spokesman said he had no details on the number of insurgents killed or captured. No US troops were wounded or killed in the fighting, he said.

"An early assessment of the site indicates a facility for training anti-Iraqi forces," said Major Richard Goldenberg of the US 42nd Infantry Division, using the U.S. military's term for insurgents.