US forces attacked west of Baghdad
( 2003-09-29 21:49) (Agencies)
US military convoys were attacked on Monday in a restive area west of Baghdad
and residents reported at least one US casualty.
They said the US forces had suffered at least one casualty when a
military vehicle was damaged as it drove over a bomb on the outskirts of the
town of Falluja.
US press officers could not immediately verify that.
Close to the nearby village of Khaldiya, fighting broke out between US
forces and anti-American guerrillas after a vehicle in another military convoy
ran over a bomb, local people said.
Assailants emerged after the bomb attack, firing rocket-propelled
grenades at US soldiers who returned fire and called in helicopters which also
opened fire, they said.
The fighting continued for several hours and one man said at least
three Iraqis had been wounded. The US military had no immmediate confirmation of
the incident.
The area around Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of the capital, is a
bastion of support for ousted dictator Saddam Hussein and the scene of almost
daily attacks on US forces.
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