WASHINGTON -- U.S. Marines used tanks and artillery fire July 29 to respond to enemy attacks on their position near Fallujah, Iraq.
No Americans were killed or injured in the exchange near Fallujah, and officials had no information on enemy casualties.
According to a news release from Multinational Force Iraq, the Marines from I Marine Expeditionary Force had been repeatedly attacked with mortars, rocket- propelled grenades, machine guns and small arms before returning fire.
The return fire was directed at enemy mortarmen observed firing from several hundred yards away from the Marines' position. The mortarmen were seen fleeing the scene after the Marines returned fire, and, officials reported, enemy activity temporarily ceased.
Iraqi police and National Guard forces "provided support to the operations," the release said. The forces from I MEF also used artillery and close-air support on enemy fighters who fled to buildings near the eastern edge of Fallujah.
In a separate incident, a Polish soldier was killed and eight others injured in an improvised-explosive-device attack on their patrol northeast of Madlul July 29. The injured soldiers were evacuated to military medical facilities in Karbala and Baghdad, where they are listed in stable condition.
Elsewhere, Multinational Force Iraq troops and Iraqi National Guardsmen captured five men suspected of manufacturing car bombs. The coalition forces found four improvised explosive devices, identification cards and car bomb- making materials, according to a news release from military officials in Baghdad.
The incident took place during a cordon-and-search operation in Baghdad July 29. The suspects were taken to a Multinational Force base for questioning.