60 Iraqi guerillas killed
Tuesday, 2 October 2007
BAGHDAD, OCT 1 (AP): US and Iraqi forces killed more than 60 insurgent and militia fighters in intense battles over the weekend, with most of the casualties believed to have been al-Qaida fighters, officials said.
The US military also announced the death of an American soldier killed Saturday in a roadside bombing and gunfire attack in eastern Baghdad. There were 62 US military deaths in September, the lowest monthly toll since July 2006 when 43 American soldiers were killed, according to a preliminary Associated Press count.
US aircraft killed more than 20 al-Qaida in Iraq fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of Baghdad, the US command said Sunday.
The aircraft observed about 25 al-Qaida insurgents carrying AK-47 assault rifles - one brandishing a rocket-propelled grenade - walking into a palm grove, the military said.
The military did not say what kind of aircraft were involved, but the fact that the fighters opened fire suggests they were low-flying Apache helicopters. The command said more than 20 of the group were killed and four vehicles were destroyed. No Iraqi civilians or US soldiers were hurt.
In a separate operation, US forces killed two insurgents and detained 21 others during weekend operations against al-Qaida. Intelligence led to a raid early Sunday that netted what the US military called 15 rogue members of the Mahdi Army militia at an undisclosed Baghdad location.
The US military also announced the death of an American soldier killed Saturday in a roadside bombing and gunfire attack in eastern Baghdad. There were 62 US military deaths in September, the lowest monthly toll since July 2006 when 43 American soldiers were killed, according to a preliminary Associated Press count.
US aircraft killed more than 20 al-Qaida in Iraq fighters who opened fire on an American air patrol northwest of Baghdad, the US command said Sunday.
The aircraft observed about 25 al-Qaida insurgents carrying AK-47 assault rifles - one brandishing a rocket-propelled grenade - walking into a palm grove, the military said.
The military did not say what kind of aircraft were involved, but the fact that the fighters opened fire suggests they were low-flying Apache helicopters. The command said more than 20 of the group were killed and four vehicles were destroyed. No Iraqi civilians or US soldiers were hurt.
In a separate operation, US forces killed two insurgents and detained 21 others during weekend operations against al-Qaida. Intelligence led to a raid early Sunday that netted what the US military called 15 rogue members of the Mahdi Army militia at an undisclosed Baghdad location.