US soldiers have killed four Iraqis in the northern city of Mosul after yhey claimed they came under rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) and small arms fire.
Soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, which controls a large swathe of northern Iraq, said they were checking for improvised explosives devices often used by guerrillas against U.S. troops when they came under attack today.
Staff Sergeant Eldon Noble said U.S. troops returned fire, destroying a car from which they had been attacked and killing its four occupants. Iraqi paramedics pulled charred corpses from the car, which U.S. soldiers said was carrying RPG rounds.
U.S. troops in and around Mosul have repeatedly come under attack in recent weeks, including a car bombing that wounded dozens of soldiers.