Troops seize militant linked to leader of group suspected in U.S. soldiers'

BAGHDAD (CNN) - U.S. troops in northern Iraq on Tuesday seized a "suspected associate" of a militant linked to an al Qaeda in Iraq cell. The cell is accused of being behind the killing of five American soldiers in Mosul last month.

The raid took place in the southwestern section of Mosul, the sprawling city where Iraqi troops are preparing for an offensive against the militant group. The group has a strong presence in the city, the capital of Nineveh province.

The five U.S. soldiers - all from the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division - were killed in a roadside bombing on Jan. 28.