Iraqi troops rescued on Monday eight of the 10 tribal sheikhs kidnapped on Sunday and killed four militants, the Iraqi military said.

Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said the operation was still going to rescue the two other sheikhs and a religious person, adding that six kidnapping suspects had been captured.

He did not say when and where the operation was conducted.

The coalition force said that Arkan Hasnawi, a former brigade commander of the Shiite armed group Mahdi Army, was behind the kidnapping of Shiite and Sunni tribal leaders.

These sheikhs were kidnapped in the Shaab neighborhood when returning to Diyala province following their meeting with a representative of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

Previous reports said one of the sheikhs was killed on Sunday.

Muqtada al-Sadr, a prominent hardline Shiite leader, announced a six-month ceasefire in late August. But some of his Mahdi Army members appear to be defying the order and waging their own campaigns.

(Xinhua News Agency October 30, 2007)