30 rebels killed in Diwaniya
No coalition soldiers were wounded or killed in the fighting, the military said, which took place about 95 miles (150 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
The operation netted a "high-value target," who was believed involved in the murder of an Iraqi soldier in August, the military said. Three other people also were captured in the operation, according to the military.
The fighting began as insurgents launched three rocket-propelled grenade rounds at coalition troops who were conducting a combat operation, the spokesman said.
One round damaged a U.S. Abrams tank, he said.
The U.S. and Iraqi troops fought back, killing 30 insurgents, the spokesman said.
Iraqi Brig. Gen. Abdul Karim Khalaf said Iraqi and U.S. troops were conducting searches and raids of houses in two neighborhoods in the area early Sunday.
Diwaniya is a stronghold of the Mehdi Army, the militia loyal to Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said Sunday that the situation in Iraq "is not as desperate as people think," despite a recent warning from a top Republican U.S. senator.
Sen. John Warner, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said Thursday that Washington should reconsider its strategy in Iraq if things don't turn around in the next few months. Warner said "the situation is simply drifting sideways" and the Iraqi government under Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is "simply not living up or not able to meet just the fundamental responsibilities of a government operating through agencies." Zebari disagreed that the Iraqi government was stalled or stopped during an appearance on CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."
"We all admit (the government) has a serious challenge and it needs to rise up to that challenge to improve security, to deliver on what it has pledged the people," Zebari said.
"This has been slow, but we have been moving steadily forward, actually."