U.S. troops kill 11 Iraqi insurgents
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. forces killed 11 Iraqi insurgents who were part of an ambush on their patrol in the northern Iraqi town of Samarra, a military spokesman said.
According to Lt. Bill McDonald, members of Task Force Ironhorse -- part of the Army's 4th Infantry Division -- were on a routine patrol Monday when they were hit in a coordinated attack, involving rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. A second patrol, operating nearby, assisted in repelling the ambush.
There were no U.S. casualties, McDonald said.
Apparently signaling the patrol's arrival in Samarra, a flock of pigeons was released, quickly followed by a preliminary attack by two men on a motorcycle with a machine gun, before the larger ambush.
Samarra is located about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Baghdad.
