Up to 150 hostages held in Iraq town

MADAEN, Iraq - US-led forces and Iraqi troops have raided parts of the town of Madaen near Baghdad in search of up to 150 Shi'ite hostages whom Sunni guerrillas have threatened to kill, a government minister said.

"The town is now under the control of Iraqi and multinational forces. ... They are raiding areas where it is suspected that hostages may be," Kassim Daoud, interim minister of state for national security, told Dubai-based al Arabiya TV.

Iraq's state-run al Iraqiya television said the guerrillas had threatened to kill the hostages within 24 hours, and a senior Shi'ite official in Baghdad said Iraqi and US-led forces were expected to launch a major overnight rescue bid.

"The number of hostages is 150. They include women and children, according to police intelligence officials I have spoken with," said the official, asking not to be named. Earlier, the number of hostages had been put at up to 60.

"Iraqi and Americans forces surrounding the town plan a big raid to rescue them tonight," he said.

Arabiya TV reported the rescue operation had already begun but no independent confirmation was immediately available.

Earlier, officials said peaceful efforts to secure the release of the hostages, seized by guerrillas with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47s on Friday, had failed.

The hostage-taking and a resurgence of violence will step up pressure on Iraq's new leaders to deliver on promises to improve security after January 30 national assembly elections.

Some Iraqi officials say the inability of the new leaders to form a government more than 11 weeks after the elections may be encouraging insurgents by creating the impression of weakness and indecision.

- REUTERS