Military: 20 rebels killed in Fallujah

BAGHDAD, Iraq – Fighting between insurgents and American-led forces in the volatile city of Fallujah has killed 20 militants, the military said today.

A Fallujah hospital official, Dr. Salim Ibrahim, had said Friday that clashes, which had been reported on earlier, killed 13 Iraqis and wounded 14 others.

Many of the wounded, including at least one child, appeared to be civilians injured in U.S. airstrikes, he said.

A U.S. military spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, said today that the fighters were killed during clashes between 7:30 p.m. Thursday and 1 a.m. Friday.

Iraqi insurgents started the fighting Thursday by ambushing a patrol with gunfire, mortars and rocket propelled grenades before fleeing into buildings in the city, the military said.

The Marines responded with tank and artillery fire at the mortar positions, several hundred yards away, the military said. Iraqi insurgents fled into buildings, which the Marines targeted with airstrikes and artillery, the military said.

The fighting continued in an industrial area, and 12 auto repair shops and two houses were destroyed.

About 12:30 a.m. Friday, U.S. military aircraft attacked insurgents spotted in a building and four vehicles, the military said.

The Iraqi fighters responded with at least four explosive volleys, but U.S. forces, Iraqi National Guard troops and Iraqi police repelled the attacks, the military said.

There were no U.S. or Iraqi security forces casualties, the military said.