U.S. and Iraqi forces kill 15 gunmen

By Paul Tait and Missy Ryan

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. and Iraqi forces killed an estimated 15 al Qaeda gunmen during a fierce battle south of Baghdad after the militants launched a major attack on recently formed neighbourhood patrols, the U.S. military said on Tuesday.

The military said up to 45 al Qaeda fighters launched a mortar attack and then assaulted two checkpoints manned by local security guards on Monday using a mix of small arms and heavy- calibre machineguns mounted on trucks in a day-long fight.

U.S F-16 warplanes dropped two 500 lb bombs during the battle in the town of Adwaniya, 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad. The area has long been a haven for al Qaeda in Iraq, which is blamed for most suicide bomb attacks in Iraq.

The al Qaeda raid marked one of the biggest attacks on neighbourhood patrols, many of which are paid by the U.S. military, since their numbers began increasing in and around Baghdad a few months ago.

Officials in the Shi'ite-led government view the formation of such armed groups, predominantly made up of Sunni Arabs, with suspicion and as a potential threat to the administration. A number of local guards are former insurgents who have since turned against al Qaeda.

Colonel Terry Ferrell, commander of U.S. troops in the Adwaniya area, said U.S. and Iraqi ground forces and U.S. helicopters and warplanes were used to repel the attack.

Two members of the 100-strong Adwaniya "concerned citizens" unit, set up only a week ago, were killed.

"The attack was focused specifically on the concerned citizens and on their checkpoints," Ferrell told Reuters, using the U.S. military name for the neighbourhood patrols.