Two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and a third was wounded in an ambush in southeastern Iraq, the Ukrainian defense ministry stated Wednesday. The incident took place near the village of Zubadia, some 180 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, when three Ukrainian armored personnel carriers came under attack.
Two US military helicopters provided cover for the Ukrainians to evacuate their men after the attack, AFP reported. A third US chopper transported the injured soldier toward Baghdad, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
In northern Iraq, a U.S. soldier was killed in an ambush on troops responding to a roadside bombing, the military said Wednesday. The Tuesday attack was near the city of Tel Afar, where a bomb hit a coalition patrol.
Meanwhile, a series of blasts and gunfire rocked Fallujah Wednesday in new fighting after a heavy battle the night before, witnesses said.
Gunfire and mortar blasts could be heard for more than an hour from southwestern Fallujah in the afternoon, then three explosions shook the area as U.S. warplanes circled over head. A black plume of smoke rose over the area.
Earlier, a US military spokesman said contacts between US forces and local leaders to disarm Sunni fighters in the city were continuing.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmit told BBC radio that two Iraqis had been killed in the overnight fighting, but there were no US military fatalities.
"I think the situation is fiercely tense, and we are still trying to work out modalities for peace," he said in a telephone interview.
At the White House, US President George W. Bush said that US forces in Iraq will "take whatever action is necessary" to quell violent unrest in Fallujah.
"Our military commanders will take whatever action is necessary to secure Fallujah on behalf of the Iraqi people," he said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
