US soldiers back in action as base attacked

Iraqi Defence Minister Abdul-Qadir al-Ubaidi (centre), inspects the site of the latest attack at military headquarters in Baghdad. Photo / AP

Days after the United States officially ended combat operations and touted Iraq's ability to defend itself, American troops yesterday found themselves battling heavily armed militants assaulting an Iraqi military headquarters in the centre of Baghdad.

The fighting killed 12 people and wounded dozens. It was the first exchange of fire involving US troops in Baghdad since the August 31 deadline for formally ending the combat mission, and it showed that American troops remaining in the country are still being drawn into the fighting.

The attack also made plain the kind of lapses in security that have left Iraqis wary of the US drawdown and distrustful of the ability of Iraqi forces now taking up ultimate responsibility for protecting the country.

Yesterday's hour-long assault was the second in as many weeks on the facility, the headquarters for the Iraqi Army's 11th Division, pointing to the failure of Iraqi forces to plug even the most obvious holes in their security.

Two of the four attackers even managed to fight their way inside the compound and were only killed after running out of ammunition and detonating explosives belts they were wearing.

The American troops who joined the fight and provided cover fire for Iraqi soldiers pursuing the attackers were based at the compound to train Iraqi forces, said US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom. Iraqi forces also requested help from US helicopters, drones and explosives experts, he said. No American troops were hurt.

Under an agreement between the two countries, Iraq can still call on American forces to assist in combat and US troops can defend themselves if attacked.

In yesterday's assault, six armed militants pulled up at a checkpoint with an explosives-laden car. The six assailants left the car and started shooting, killing a soldier at the checkpoint. Guards at an observation tower returned fire, killing four militants, while two entered a building in the military compound.

Iraqi soldiers shot and killed a seventh attacker who was driving the vehicle, causing the car bomb to explode.

The fighting came to an end after the two assailants who breached the compound ran out of bullets and detonated their explosives vests.

Two weeks ago, an al Qaeda-linked suicide bomber waded into a crowd of hundreds of army recruits outside the building and detonated a blast that killed 61 people. That was the deadliest act of violence in Baghdad in months. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for yesterday's attack.

Iraq's political instability now appears to be threatening the country's security. Six months after an inconclusive election, Iraq still has no new government.

Prime Minister Nouri Maliki, a Shiite, is struggling to keep his job after his political coalition came in a close second to a Sunni-backed alliance in the March 7 vote.

NEW ROLE

* The United States' combat mission in Iraq ended last month.
* The 50,000 US troops left in Iraq are there to train members of the Iraqi armed forces.
* Iraq can still call on the Americans to assist in combat situations. US troops can also defend themselves if attacked.
* All US troops are due to leave the country by the end of next year.

- AP