Twenty-four gunmen were killed and four American troops injured in fierce clashes between US soldiers and fighters in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on Tuesday, the American military said. The fighting erupted at around 9:30 am (0630 GMT) when a US patrol was targeted with small arms fire in which a soldier was wounded, Lieutenant Colonel Steven Stover told AFP.
As the soldier was being evacuated an American vehicle was struck by two roadside bombs, small arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades, he conveyed. The "complex" attack damaged the vehicle and wounded three other troops, he said, adding that another US vehicle was later damaged by a third road bomb.
According to Stover, US soldiers defended themselves and "killed 24 enemy forces in a protracted gunbattle," adding that the firefight was still continuing.
Earlier Tuesday, Iraqi officials said nine people were killed in Sadr city and 25 others wounded.
Meanwhile, an Iraqi official said a roadside bomb has killed a senior government official in northern Baghdad. A spokesman said Tuesday's roadside bomb hit Dhia Jodi Jaber as he left his home in his car. According to the AP, the spokesman Abdullah al-Lami said Jaber was a director general at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs.
