US troops kill 9 suspected insurgents in northern Iraq raid

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
US and Iraqi forces killed nine suspected insurgents and detained eight others in a raid targeting al-Qaida in northern Iraq, the US military said Thursday. Three Iraqi troops were killed in the operation. The Tal Afar Special Weapons and Tactics team, made up of US forces and Iraqi SWAT teams, on Sunday targeted a cell responsible for assassinations and bombing attacks in the Tal Afar area in Iraq's Ninevah province, the military said in a statement. During the raid, several fighters opened a barrage of gunfire at the Iraqi and US troops, killing the three Iraqi soldiers and wounding three others. In the ensuing gunfight, the US-Iraqi team killed nine suspected insurgents. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded and treated at the scene and eight suspected cell members were detained for questioning, including two who were wounded and evacuated to a military hospital for treatment, the military said.