Insurgents mount bold attack in Baghdad (7 hour battle)

[sabra]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO722227.htm

Insurgents mount bold attack in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, April 17 (Reuters) - About 50 insurgents mounted a brazen attack on Iraqi forces in Baghdad on Monday, prompting U.S. troops to provide support in a battle that lasted seven hours, a U.S. military spokesman said.

The guerrillas attacked Iraqi forces in the mostly Sunni Arab district of Adhamiya in northern Baghdad overnight. Five rebels were killed and one member of the Iraqi forces was wounded. There were no U.S. casualties, said the spokesman.

"It was quite a battle. It lasted seven hours," he said.

...

The withdrawal of U.S. troops depends on the performance of Iraq's security forces, who are struggling to curb insurgent suicide bombings, shootings and assassinations as well as a rise in sectarian violence.