Five of the soldiers were evacuated for medical treatment. None of the injuries is life-threatening.
As many as 20 Iraqis were killed in brief gun battles Monday and Wednesday, and some 60 injured, according to local reports. The U.S. military confirmed seven wounded in the incident Monday, and announced Wednesday it had initial reports two Iraqis were killed.
The military claims they were fired on by armed Iraqis mixed into the crowd on both days. Some Iraqi eyewitnesses say the soldiers fired first, according to news reports from the region.
U.S. Central Command has been trying to counter the image of its soldiers as occupiers and aggressors against unarmed Iraqis by issuing detailed announcements about small attacks on U.S. forces that might otherwise not be reported, a Pentagon source confirmed.
The releases point out incidents when coalition forces do not return fire, an attempt to point out the restraint they exercise. They also maintain that the soldiers are exercising their military power "throughout Iraq so that the delivery of humanitarian aid, and infrastructure repair can continue."
On Thursday, Iraqi gunmen fired at coalition forces not just in Fallujah but in eastern Baghdad. One soldier received "a minor wound," Central Command announced.
"In each case, coalition forces exercised their inherent right to self-defense in accordance with the rules of engagement," Centcom stated.
On Wednesday it issued a similar statement detailing "recent" incidents: a drive-by shooting at an oil-gas separation plant in the Ramaila oilfield that injured no one.
In Fallujah Wednesday, two Iraqis were killed when U.S. forces fired on a group of civilians throwing rocks and firing weapons at a convoy. The convoy returned fire, killing two, according to preliminary reports.
"One U.S. soldier was injured by a rock thrown through a windshield," Central Command stated.
Copyright 2003 by United Press International.
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