We need to have this keep happening until the Iraqis wipe out these bastards.
10 Police Killed in Major Battle
Command post blog
So were twice that many "insurgents", and a similar number captured.
From the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) :
abc.net.au
Ten Iraqi police officers and 20 gunmen have been killed in a massive battle that broke out when rebels launched an onslaught on a police station south-east of Baghdad, police say.
About 50 policemen were also wounded in the fire fight in Salman Pak, which lasted several hours, a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
For his part, Iraq's national security adviser, Qassem Daoud, said 20 rebels were killed and 21 arrested during the clashes.
United States gunships fired missiles in a bid to dislodge the rebels besieging the police station in the radical Sunni town, about 24 kilometres south-east of Baghdad.
US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Hutton had earlier acknowledged that at least six policemen were killed in the battle.
"The insurgents did assume control of the police station temporarily," Lieutenant Hutton said.
"We attacked them with helicopters, which fired missiles, and the insurgents fled. The operation to pursue them is still going on."
A US military statement said US troops evacuated the wounded for treatment and added that "nearly 20 cars were on fire following the attack".
Mr Daoud had indicated that the operation, which involved special police forces, targeted "a terrorist group which has been in the area for two weeks". |
