 11-30-2003, 08:34 PM | #1 |
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Source: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...0/180837.shtml Quote: U.S. Kills 46 Iraqi Fighters in the North
NewsMax.com Wires
Monday, Dec. 1, 2003
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- In the deadliest reported firefight since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, U.S. soldiers fought back coordinated attacks Sunday using tanks, cannons and small arms in running battles throughout the northern city of Samarra. The troops killed 46 Iraqi fighters, and five Americans were wounded.
Minutes later, two South Korean contractors were killed nearby in a roadside ambush in what U.S. officials called a new campaign aimed at undermining international support for the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Attacks on Saturday killed seven Spaniards, two Japanese diplomats and a Colombian oil worker.
Lt. Col. William MacDonald of the 4th Infantry Division said attackers, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's Fedayeen militia, opened fire simultaneously on two U.S. supply convoys on opposite sides of Samarra.
After barricading a road, the attackers opened fire from rooftops and alleyways with bombs, small arms, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, he said. U.S. troops responded with rifles, 120mm tank rounds and 25mm cannon fire from Bradley fighting vehicles.
U.S. fire destroyed three buildings the attackers were using, MacDonald said.
"It sounds like the attack had some coordination to it, but the soldiers responded, used their firepower, used tank and Bradley fire and other weapons available to them, to stop this attack and take the fight to the enemy," he said.
When the smoke cleared, 46 Iraqis were dead, 18 were wounded and eight were captured, MacDonald said. Five American soldiers and a civilian were wounded, he said, adding that none of the injuries were life-threatening.
"We have been very aggressive in our convoy operations to ensure the maximum force protection is with each convoy," MacDonald said. "But it does send a clear message that if you attempt to attack one of our convoys, we're going to use our firepower to stop that attack."
Shortly after the firefight, four men in a BMW attacked another U.S. convoy in Samarra with automatic rifles, MacDonald said. The soldiers wounded all four men, and found Kalashnikov rifles and grenade launchers in their car.
MacDonald said the attack was the largest faced by his Task Force Ironhorse -- whose mission includes the hunt for Saddam. Military officials in Baghdad said they haven't reported a deadlier attack since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat over.
U.S. officials have only sporadically released figures on Iraqi casualties, and wouldn't say whether there has been a deadlier firefight that went unreported.
Samarra is 60 miles north of Baghdad in the so-called Sunni Triangle, where opposition to the U.S. occupation of Iraq has been fiercest.
| Talk about a big firefight, 46, geez! |
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