It said the cell allegedly used the mosque compound as a place to conduct such crimes and store weapons. The mosque was only slightly damaged during the raid, the coalition said in a statement.

On Saturday, Iraqi soldiers backed by US helicopters swept into Sadr City after intelligence indicated that an armed group was holding some of the scores of Iraqis who were snatched from a Higher Education Ministry office building in Baghdad last week.

The Americans said the raid was conducted to rescue captives and disrupt kidnapping and insurgent cells. Three Iraqis were reportedly wounded but no hostages were found.

On Nov. 14, gunmen dressed in Interior Ministry commando uniforms abducted about 150 men from the central Baghdad office that handles academic grants and exchanges. The men were handcuffed and driven away in about 20 pickup trucks. About half were released that night and the next day, a government minister said.

A Sunni who said he was among the freed hostages claimed the kidnappers broke his arm. He said he saw them kill at least three hostages after taking them to empty houses in Sadr City.

A rogue cell from the Mahdi Army militia also is suspected of having captured an Iraqi-American soldier last month.

Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old reserve soldier from Ann Arbor, Mich., was visiting his Iraqi wife in Baghdad on Oct. 23 when gunmen handcuffed him and took him away.

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