Three U.S. Troops Killed In Iraq

17 April 2005 -- The U.S. military said today that three U.S. soldiers were killed by mortar fire at a U.S. base in the Iraqi city of Ramadi overnight.

Seven servicemen were also wounded in the attack, three of them seriously.

The military said in a statement that the attackers were believed to have fled into a nearby mosque. But when Iraqi security forces searched it, they found no insurgents.

Ramadi is about 110 kilometers west of Baghdad.

Iraqi security forces raided Madain village, just southeast of Baghdad, today where Sunni militants were holding Shi'ite Muslims hostage. Authorities said that Iraqi forces freed about 15 Shi'ite families. No casualties were reported.

(Reuters)