US kills 46 Iraqis following ambush attempts
Coalition troops killed 46 Iraqis and captured eight after a spate of attempted ambushes on US convoys in northern Iraq on Sunday.
The bloodbath came as 15 people were killed in the war torn country over the weekend, taking the coalition troop death toll in November to 115.
US troops had to ward off several failed mortar, grenade and small arms fire attacks on convoys in the city of Samarra.
Eighteen Iraqis were wounded and eight captured. Five US soldiers were injured.
In another attack, four men with automatic rifles attacked a convoy of US military engineers. The soldiers returned fire, wounding all four attackers.
The Fedayeen, a military group loyal to Saddam Hussein, were reportedly behind some of the attacks, according to Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald of the US 4th Infantry Division.
He described the attack on Sunday as “massive and well co-ordinated.”
Two American soldiers were killed Saturday by rocket-propelled grenades and automatic fire.
