BREAKING NEWS

Firefight involving US-Iraq forces leaves 6 dead

BAGHDAD – For the second time in less than a week, US forces in Iraq were drawn into deadly fighting against insurgents which left six dead.
Wednesday's raid, in which at least six people were killed, was in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah  — highlighting the persistent danger that Al-Qaida-linked militants still pose despite years of efforts by both Iraqi and US forces to root them out.
Insurgents seem to have redoubled their efforts this summer to target Iraqi security forces taking over from the departing Americans — nine Iraqi soldiers died Wednesday in a roadside bombing while two police officers in Baghdad were shot and killed. The militants are trying to undermine the so-called "Sons of Iraq" — the anti-Al-Qaida militia that was instrumental in reducing violence.
Details of the raid were murky. US officials described it as an Iraq-led mission targeting Al-Qaida-linked militants with Americans in an advisory capacity. Officials in Anbar province railed against the raid, calling it a heavy-handed attack that left civilians dead.