NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Iraqi, Coalition Forces foil multiple terrorist attacks

Five terrorists were killed and seven detained in response to coordinated attacks on Iraqi and Coalition Forces in the Baghdad suburb of Adhamiyah April 17 and 18.

The attacks began at about 3:50 am April 17, when gunmen fired on an Iraqi Army patrol. The resulting firefight lasted for more than seven hours.

An estimated 50 gunmen led another attack on a combined Iraq and U.S. checkpoint about four hours later.

Soldiers at the checkpoint called for assistance, and five companies of Soldiers from the 6th Iraqi Army, along with two quick-reaction force platoons from Multi-National Division - Baghdad's 506th Infantry Regiment responded to the call.

The latest reports indicate continuing cordons and searches in the area to root out the terrorists.

Coalition Forces repelled insurgent attacks at several locations in central Ramadi April 17. The apparently closely-coordinated attacks targeted the Ramadi Government Center and involved multiple car bombs, mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, and heavy machine gun and small arms fire.

In one incident, U.S. Marines from 8th Marine Regiment took heavy machine gun fire, small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades from the Fatemat Mosque. The Marines returned fire but continued to take fire from the mosque's minaret.

Marines neutralized the fire from the minaret with one 120 mm tank round and several 7.62 mm machine gun rounds.

According to Battalion Commander Marine Lt. Col. Stephen M. Neary, this was the fourth time in three-and-a-half weeks the Ramadi Government Center has been attacked from the Fatemat Mosque. "I'm extremely proud of my Marines," said Neary. "They only used the proportionate amount of force necessary to repel the insurgent attack."

"Coalition Forces take significant measures to respect all religious sites, but we always maintain the inherent right of self-defense," said Marine spokesman Lt. Col. Bryan Salas. "When insurgents use holy places as safe havens from which to attack Coalition Forces, it is important that we act quickly to defend ourselves and innocent Iraqi civilians."

In other actions, 101st Airborne Division Soldiers and Iraqi Security Forces killed an insurgent April 17 after the terrorist killed an Iraqi Soldier and two civilians in a village near Hawijah, Iraq.

Iraqi Soldiers pursued four insurgents who fled in a black BMW after killing an Iraqi Soldier from 2nd Iraqi Army Brigade. The Soldiers tracked the sedan to a building in Agula Village with the assistance of two local civilians. Two other Iraqi civilians also offered assistance at the location.

Two Iraqi Army platoons and two U.S. 327th Infantry Regiment platoons arrived at the building as reinforcements. In the ensuing firefight, the insurgents killed two civilians and wounded two others.

After the fire fight, Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers cleared the building, finding one dead terrorist and a hand grenade.

The battle captain with the 327th, Capt. Joe Dasilva, said the engagement was a significant step forward for the Iraqi Soldiers.

"It's exactly the direction we are training them towards; the ability to react to incidents on the battlefield," said Dasilva. "And that's exactly what they did. They reacted to a fellow Soldier being shot and killed by gathering a force, tracking the insurgent, coming up with a plan, and executing it against the insurgents."

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq