Clashes end deadliest month for coalition since war began
Sunday, November 30, 2003 Posted: 7:20 PM EST (0020 GMT)
TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. troops fought off two simultaneous attacks on military convoys Sunday in northern Iraq, killing 46 attackers, wounding 18 and capturing eight others, military officials said.
During the gunfights, U.S. tanks crushed makeshift barricades set up by the guerrillas and destroyed three buildings from which the Iraqi fighters were launching attacks.
Some of the attackers appeared to be wearing the black uniforms of the Fedayeen Saddam, a militia loyal to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, said Master Sgt. Robert Cargie, a spokesman for the Army's 4th Infantry Division.
The convoys carrying military supplies and Iraqi dinars came under attack in Samarra, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Baghdad, the Army's 4th Infantry Division said.
"This was a coordinated, simultaneous attack," Cargie said, with one convoy being attacked on the east side of the city and the other coming under fire while in the west side of Samarra.
Guerrillas set off improvised explosive devices as the convoys approached, then opened fire from nearby rooftops and alleyways with rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades, Cargie said.
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