IRAQ: FIERCE FIGHTING ERUPTS BETWEEN INSURGENTS AND U.S. TROOPS IN NORTHERN TOWN OF TAL AFAR

Record ID: 376297

  • Title: IRAQ: FIERCE FIGHTING ERUPTS BETWEEN INSURGENTS AND U.S. TROOPS IN NORTHERN TOWN OF TAL AFAR
  • Date: 18th February 2005
  • Summary: (W3) TAL AFAR, IRAQ (FEBRUARY 18, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. WIDE OF STREET 0.06 2. LV: U.S. ARMOURED VEHICLE ON ROAD 0.13 3. BROKEN DOWN U.S. HUMVEE BEING TOWED AWAY 0.20 4. MASKED FIGHTER FIRING ROCKET-PROPELLED GRENADES 0.25 5. MASKED GUNMAN FIRING AUTOMATIC RIFLE / AUDIO OF GUNFIRE 0.32 6. LV: U.S. APACHE HELICOPTER FLYI
  • Embargoed: 5th March 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TAL AFAR, IRAQ
  • Country: Iraq
  • Reuters ID: LVAB3Q1GYCQCO0OWQAADNNKDUC6Z
  • Story Text: Heavy clashes flare up north of Baghdad between
    insurgents and U.S. troops.



    Fierce fighting erupted in the northern town of Tal
    Afar, near the northern city of Mosul between insurgents
    and U.S. troops on Friday (February 18) following frequent
    roadside bomb attacks on U.S. convoys in the city.

    Residents of the tense city, 60 km (40 miles) west of
    Mosul, said the clashes started early on Thursday (February
    17) after a roadside bomb attack on a U.S. convoy in the
    centre of the town. They said that clashes renewed on
    Friday following a roadside bomb attack on a U.S. convoy.

    The U.S. military said in a statement on Friday that
    three U.S. soldiers were killed in separate attacks in and
    around Mosul on Thursday.

    A car bomb exploded next to a U.S. army patrol, killing
    one soldier and wounding three. In a second attack, a
    soldier was shot dead in an exchange of fire with
    guerrillas. On the third attack a roadside bomb killed one
    soldier and wounded another near Tal Afar.

    The deaths brought to 1,117 the number of U.S. troops
    killed in action since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in
    March 2003.

    Masked gunmen could be seen in the deserted streets of
    the town firing rocket-propelling grenades and automatic
    rifles as crackles of gunfire echoed across the city.

    According to witnesses U.S. forces raided al-Qal'a and
    Hassan Koi neighbourhoods where most of the fighting took
    place, launching a house-to-house search for guerrilla
    fighters.

    There are no official reports on the casualties,
    although witnesses said that at least seven people were
    killed and 18 others in the clashes.

    The town, 500 km north of Baghdad is the scene of
    frequent clashes between US forces and guerrillas.

    U.S. troops have been battling to keep order in Mosul,
    where an insurgency broke out in November when almost the
    entire police force in Iraq's third largest city deserted.

    The 8,000-strong U.S. force in Mosul has said it is
    steadily returning stability to the city.



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