A US helicopter gunship killed seven people allegedly preparing to fire rockets at an American base in northern Iraq. According to the US military, troops later found hundreds of other missiles and rockets.
"Last night an AH-64 Apache observed enemy forces preparing to attack ... trying to fire rockets," said Major Josslyn Aberle, adding that the suspects had targeted the US army's Speicher base, 200 kilometers north of Baghdad.
"The AH-64 engaged the would-be attackers, killing seven and wounding one," while another managed to flee, said Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, which operates in the area, AFP reported.
Ground troops deployed to the scene found a flatbed truck carrying 50 missiles and a bunker containing 300 rockets as well between 200 and 300 missiles, added Aberle. She said the operation was part of "Operation Ivy Cyclone", launched after a Blackhawk helicopter was shot down November 7, killing all six aboard, just outside the 4th ID headquarters in Tikrit, 180 kilometers north of Baghdad.
Aberle said the operation focused on "aggressive operations" that notably aimed to "locate and detain those forces conducting anti-coalition activities."
Early Friday, US forces in Tikrit captured four men suspected of involvement in the downing of US helicopters, a senior military officer said.
Meanwhile, in Samarra, north of Baghdad, a bomb went off as a convoy passed by Thursday night, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding three others, the military said Friday.
Elsewhere, in Baghdad's northwestern neighborhood of Khadra, a roadside bomb blew up Friday as U.S. soldiers tried to defuse it, causing three casualties among the soldiers, a witness said, according to The AP.
An American civilian contractor was killed and another injured when gunmen attacked a convoy of vehicles Thursday afternoon near Balad, some 70 kilometers north of Baghdad, the military said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
