By RAVI NESSMAN
Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD — American forces freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis — some of whom had been hung from ceilings and tortured for months — in a raid Sunday on an al-Qaida hideout north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Military officials said the operation, launched on tips from residents, showed that Iraqis in the turbulent Diyala province were turning against Sunni insurgents and beginning to trust U.S. troops. “The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaida,” said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq.

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