16 rebels killed after ambushing US forces

Sixteen rebel insurgents have been killed in Iraq after US troops beat off a number of ambushes over the past 24 hours.

In the largest engagement, the US Central Command confirmed today that troops travelling through the city of Samarra repelled a "complex ambush" yesterday afternoon, killing 11 attackers without suffering any casualties.

US military sources said that two men on a motorcycle firing automatic weapons confronted a patrol as it drove through the city. The pair used children leaving a nearby school as cover to attack the patrol, the US military said.

Coalition forces used snipers, "in consideration of the children and a nearby mosque", and the pair fled. However, a short distance later the patrol was attacked by a second group which fired machine guns, RPGs and mortars at the convoy after detonating an "improvised explosive device".

"The enemy’s attack was ineffective, causing neither casualties nor damage to any vehicle," a US military spokesperson said.

A nearby patrol joined the attack and the ambushers melted away, leaving 11 dead behind. There were no Coalition casualties during the firefight and, except for a civilian automobile that was damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade, there was no damage to any other property or equipment.

The US military has also confirmed that an airborne unit was attacked with two improvised explosive devices, rocket propelled grenades (RPG), and small arms fire north of Khalidiyah.

Around 15-20 militants ambushed the soldiers, but the attack was beaten off with two attackers killed. In a separate attack, approximately 30 Iraqis began firing on a unit returning from a weapons cache. The unit returned fire, killing one of the attackers.

And this afternoon, two militants were shot dead after US troops were fired on in Al Ramadi.

(gmcg)