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U.S. Forces Kill 27 Iraqis in Clash

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. forces killed 27 Iraqi fighters in a ground and air pursuit Friday after the Iraqis attacked an American tank patrol north of Baghdad, the military said.

U.S. Central Command said an "organized group" ambushed the tanks in Balad, about 35 miles from the capital on the main highway north. The statement made no mention of U.S. casualties.

The patrol returned fire and killed four of the assailants in the initial gunbattle, the military said.

When the rest of the attackers fled, Apache helicopters joined the chase along with tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles, killing 23 more assailants. The statement did not say whether any escaped.

The attack was the latest in increasing resistance to the American-led occupation of Iraq since the war was declared over on May 1.

Since then, about 40 Americans have been killed in ambushes and by sniper fire, mainly in the central area of Iraq where ousted President Saddam Hussein drew most of his support.

US troops in Iraq. US troops have detained 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in a raid in northern Iraq, Central Command said in its first explicit claim of involvement by Osama bin Laden's Islamist militant network in post-war unrest here.

US troops detain 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in Iraq

BAGHDAD (AFP) - US troops have detained 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathisers in a raid in northern Iraq, Central Command said in its first explicit claim of involvement by Osama bin Laden's Islamist militant network in post-war unrest here.

"The 173rd Airborne Brigade conducted a raid Thursday near (the northern oil capital of) Kirkuk after receiving intelligence information about alleged anti-coalition elements. They apprehended 74 suspected Al-Qaeda sympathizers," Centcom said in a short statement.

US commanders have thus far put the main blame for deadly attacks against coalition troops here on loyalists of the ousted regime of Saddam Hussein although they have acknowledged that foreign "fanatics" might also have had a role.

Separately, US troops launched a massive operation in northwestern Iraq before dawn Thursday against what the coalition said was a "terrorist training camp."

Military spokesmen in Baghdad said they could give no further details on that operation as it was still ongoing Friday.