BAGHDAD — American and Iraqi soldiers killed three Sunni militants Saturday and detained a dozen suspects in operations in northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.

Two of the militants were killed in a gunfight in Sharqat, about 170 miles north of Baghdad, the military said in a statement. One of the dead was identified as a wanted member of a network that carries out bombings, the military said.

Eight others were apprehended in the raids.

The third suspected militant was killed Saturday in nearby Kirkuk during a raid on a cell believed to have carried out kidnappings.

A U.S. military statement said troops opened fire after an armed man refused to surrender and began "to move quickly with his weapon into a confrontational position."

Three others were detained Friday in the northern city of Mosul, including an alleged leader of an "illegal terrorist court" that meted out punishment and supervised suicide bombers, the U.S. military said.

A suspect believed to have ties to senior al-Qaida in Iraq figures was picked up Saturday in Bulayj, about 60 miles southwest of Mosul, the U.S. said.

Al-Qaida remains active in Sunni areas of northern Iraq despite suffering severe setbacks in Baghdad, not only by U.S. and Iraqi forces but also because of pressure from Shiite militiamen who forced thousands of Sunnis from mixed areas of the capital during sectarian warfare in 2006.

The terror movement also lost its major base in the western province of Anbar after Sunni tribes turned against al-Qaida and joined with U.S. forces to provide security there.

Nevertheless, al-Qaida remains active in scattered areas of Anbar. On Thursday, a suicide bomber dressed in a police uniform attacked a meeting of U.S.-backed tribal sheiks in Karmah, killing more than 20, including three U.S. Marines and the mayor.