MADAEN, April 16: United States-led forces and Iraqi troops raided parts of the town of Madaen on Saturday in search of 150 Shia hostages whom their kidnappers have threatened to kill.

“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 kidnappers had threatened to kill the hostages within 24 hours.

“The number of hostages is 150. They include women and children, according to police intelligence officials I have spoken with,” said an official.

Earlier, officials said peaceful efforts to secure the release of the hostages, seized 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.

FAMILIES FLEE TOWN: A growing number of families had been fleeing Madaen, about 40kms southeast of Baghdad, since the hostage standoff began.—Reuters