BAGHDAD - Iraqi and US troops backed by helicopter gunships battled insurgents in the heart of Baghdad on Tuesday, in firefights that killed four Iraqi soldiers and wounded 16 Americans, the military said.
Two US combat helicopters were slightly damaged when they came under small arms fire during the gunfights and briefly had to return to base.
Iraqi and US troops conducting routine cordon and search operations in Rusafa were rapidly ambushed by small arms fire in the Al-Fadhel area, and air assets were called in, the US military said.
"Attack helicopters targeted by small arms fire suffered minor damage, returned to base and then continued with their missions," it said.
"Combined forces on the ground continued to work with attack aviation assets throughout the day to locate, identify, and engage and kill three insurgents targeting coalition and Iraqi security forces in the area.
"As a result of this small arms fire incident, one local nation child was injured, four Iraqi army soldiers killed and two wounded. Sixteen MND-B soldiers were also wounded in the attack," the military said.
Iraqi and US troops have been waging a massive security crackdown in the capital for nearly two months that has seen American officials upbeat about signs of progress.
Although execution-style killings have fallen drastically as a result of the Baghdad crackdown, car bombings have continued. The latest killed five people and wounded another 10 people on Tuesday near Baghdad University.
The attack took place near the university campus in the southwestern Jadiriyah district of the capital.
Colleges and academics have been a persistent target for insurgents in the war-wracked country in the four years since the US-led invasion.
A rocket also slammed into a school on Palestine Street killing one pupil, the headteacher said. The only Christian in the school, the boy was hit as he played alone outside while his Muslim classmates attended a religious lesson.
04/10/2007 17:24 GMT