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Air strike near Ramadi kills terrorists

An air strike near Ramadi on Saturday killed six terrorists who had fired mortars at civilians there.

Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multi-National Force - Iraq senior spokesman, said that Coalition aircraft saw the terrorists loading a mortar tube into a white sedan near a known terrorist safe house.

The Coalition aircraft continued to watch as the terrorists dug up munitions from a weapons cache and then fired four mortars at Iraqi civilians Saturday morning. The men then drove the vehicle to another secluded area.

Coalition forces, determining that striking the terrorists at this location would prevent innocent casualties, dropped a guided bomb from the aircraft onto the vehicle, killing all six terrorists.

Secondary explosions showed the terrorists had other explosives in and around the vehicle, Caldwell said.

During a press conference in Baghdad on Wednesday, Caldwell showed reporters aerial video footage of the air strike.

"We continue to see success in killing and capturing those terrorists who carry out attacks against the Iraqi people and Iraqi security forces," Caldwell said. "Thanks to the coordinated efforts of the Iraqi security forces and Coalition forces, these terrorists will no longer be able to conduct acts of terror in an attempt to discredit Iraq's democratic process."

Source: Multi-National Force-Iraq