FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 27 (Xinhua) -- Seven Iraqi soldiers were killed
Sunday in two separate roadside bomb attacks in Iraq's restive city of
Fallujah, some 50 km west of Baghdad, witnesses said.
"A powerful roadside bomb blast followed by a fierce gun battle took
place on Saturday, when a joint US and Iraqi army patrol went through the
Shuhada'a district in southern Fallujah," Abdul Rahman, a local journalist
told Xinhua.
"Two Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others wounded after their
vehicle was damaged by the blast," he said.
In the fierce exchange of fire following the roadside bombing, an
insurgent was killed, he said, adding that there were also casualties on
the US side.
Hours later, another roadside bomb blew off near an Iraqi army patrol in
the same district, destroying an army vehicle and killing all the five
soldiers aboard, Rahman said.
The Iraqi soldiers in the patrol opened fire after the blast and wounded
two civilians, he added.
In another incident further west, four Iraqi civilians were killed by a
sniper's fire in the town of Hit, some 150 km northwest of Baghdad,
according to a doctor in Hit Hospital.
"They were shot dead with bullets in the head and neck," the doctor
said.
US and Iraqi troops have sealed off Hit for several weeks, he said,
adding that the hospital has received people killed by snipers' shots
almost every day.
US and Iraqi troops have waged a series of offensives against insurgents
during the past few months in the volatile western province of Anbar, where
Fallujah is located.

RIP.