US 'kills dozens' in Iraqi city
The US military has reported killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central Iraqi city of Samarra.
Five US soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the fighting which raged as militants made a series of attacks on convoys in the city on Sunday.
Eight militants were also captured, US spokesman Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald told reporters.
News of the fighting comes after a weekend of bloody ambushes across Iraq, largely targeting American allies.
Colonel MacDonald said the US forces had fought back with tank fire when they were attacked three times by militants wearing uniforms of the pro-Saddam Fedayeen fighters.
Bradley fighting vehicles responded with 120mm tank rounds and 25mm cannon fire, destroying three buildings in the city, he said.
"We're sending a clear message that anyone who attempts to attack our convoys will pay the price," the spokesman said.
Samarra is within the so-called "Sunni triangle" north of Baghdad - the heartland of Saddam Hussein loyalists.
No non-US accounts of the fighting in Samarra were immediately available on Sunday evening.
'Rooftops and alleys'
Two logistical convoys were moving into Samarra when they came under attack from roadside bombs, small arms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.
The attacks - one on the east side of the city, the other on the west - were simultaneous and appeared to be coordinated.
In one of the ambushes, militants had barricaded off the road and opened fire from rooftop positions and out of alleyways.
About an hour after the initial ambushes, four militants in a car attacked another US convoy in Samarra.
All four were wounded and captured in the clash and Kalashnikov rifles recovered from the black BMW.
None of the US soldiers was seriously hurt, the US spokesman said.
"This is the largest [ambush] for our task force since we've been in the area," Colonel MacDonald added.
Bloody weekend
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and his Japanese counterpart, Junichiro Koizumi, have both vowed not to surrender to "terrorism" after weekend attacks on their citizens in Iraq.
Seven Spanish intelligence agents were killed in an ambush on Saturday and two Japanese diplomats died in a separate attack.
The attack on the Spanish agents caused particular revulsion in Spain where images of Iraqis celebrating at the site of the killings were shown widely.
Two South Korean workers and a Colombian contractor were also killed in separate attacks and two US soldiers died in an attack near the Syrian border.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3251690.stm
The US military has reported killing 46 militants and wounding 18 in clashes in the central Iraqi city of Samarra.
Five US soldiers and a civilian were wounded in the fighting which raged as militants made a series of attacks on convoys in the city on Sunday.
Eight militants were also captured, US spokesman Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald told reporters.
News of the fighting comes after a weekend of bloody ambushes across Iraq, largely targeting American allies.
Colonel MacDonald said the US forces had fought back with tank fire when they were attacked three times by militants wearing uniforms of the pro-Saddam Fedayeen fighters.
Bradley fighting vehicles responded with 120mm tank rounds and 25mm cannon fire, destroying three buildings in the city, he said.
"We're sending a clear message that anyone who attempts to attack our convoys will pay the price," the spokesman said.
Samarra is within the so-called "Sunni triangle" north of Baghdad - the heartland of Saddam Hussein loyalists.
No non-US accounts of the fighting in Samarra were immediately available on Sunday evening.
'Rooftops and alleys'
Two logistical convoys were moving into Samarra when they came under attack from roadside bombs, small arms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, he said.
The attacks - one on the east side of the city, the other on the west - were simultaneous and appeared to be coordinated.
In one of the ambushes, militants had barricaded off the road and opened fire from rooftop positions and out of alleyways.
About an hour after the initial ambushes, four militants in a car attacked another US convoy in Samarra.
All four were wounded and captured in the clash and Kalashnikov rifles recovered from the black BMW.
None of the US soldiers was seriously hurt, the US spokesman said.
"This is the largest [ambush] for our task force since we've been in the area," Colonel MacDonald added.
Bloody weekend
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar and his Japanese counterpart, Junichiro Koizumi, have both vowed not to surrender to "terrorism" after weekend attacks on their citizens in Iraq.
Seven Spanish intelligence agents were killed in an ambush on Saturday and two Japanese diplomats died in a separate attack.
The attack on the Spanish agents caused particular revulsion in Spain where images of Iraqis celebrating at the site of the killings were shown widely.
Two South Korean workers and a Colombian contractor were also killed in separate attacks and two US soldiers died in an attack near the Syrian border.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3251690.stm
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