Iraqi, U.S. Forces Fend Off Insurgent Attacks

U.S. and Iraqi troops repelled a series of coordinated attacks, including two by suicide car bombers, killing six insurgents and capturing 12, the military said Saturday.

The fighting in southern Baghdad erupted about 8 p.m. Friday when guerrillas opened fire on an Iraqi army position, the American military said in a statement. U.S. helicopters fired on them.

At nearly the same time, a suicide bomber drove a truck loaded with explosives into a nearby Iraqi army checkpoint, killing an Iraqi soldier. A second suicide driver tried to attack another Iraqi position in the area, but a U.S. tank opened fire and the car exploded. Minutes later, insurgents fired at an Iraqi army post. There was no damage, the U.S. statement said.

Over the next two hours, rebels tried again to attack the two Iraqi army posts but were driven off, the statement added.