An Iraqi force backed by U.S. special forces killed nine gunmen and detained eight others during a raid targeting al-Qaida cell near the town of Tal Afar in Nineveh province, the U.S. military said on Thursday.
The intelligence-driven raid took place on Sunday when the troops targeted a training base used by the cell believed to be "responsible for assassinations, improvised explosive device attacks, and illegal traffic control points throughout the Tal Afar area," a military statement said, referring to the area located some 70 km west of Mosul, the capital of the Sunni dominated province.
The troops traded heavy fire with the militants resulted in the killing of three Iraqi troops and wounding three others, while nine gunmen were killed and eight other suspects were detained, the statement said.
"Eight suspected cell members were detained for further questioning, including two who were wounded and evacuated to a Coalition Forces hospital for treatment," it said.
Three Iraqi civilians were also wounded and treated on-site, it added.
The raid came as violence increased recently in Iraq's northern provinces, including Nineveh, as insurgents regrouped there after being defeated from their strongholds in the central and western part of the country under the pressure of major offensives conducted by U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
Source:Xinhua
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