By Xinhua
Baghdad : U.S. air strike killed two suspected gunmen and wounded five people, including two U.S. soldiers in eastern Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Sunday.
The attack took place on Saturday when an “Aerial Weapons Team”(AWT) observed four gunmen planting roadside bombs in the neighborhood of Baghdad al-Jadida at about 1:00 p.m. (1000 GMT), a military statement said.
“The AWT then engaged with a Hellfire missile destroying the IED (improvised explosive device) and killing two of the criminals,” the statement said.
A second missile targeted two survivors of the first attack, but overshot its target and struck a U.S. military vehicle and nearby houses, setting them ablaze, while the gunmen escaped the scene, the statement said.
Iraqi security forces and U.S. ground troops in the area provided support to the firefight efforts and medical treatment to the wounded people who were three local civilians and two U.S. soldiers, it said.
The incident is under investigation, it added.
The predominantly Shiite neighborhood of Baghdad al-Jadida, or New Baghdad, is adjacent to the sprawling district of Sadr City, the stronghold of Mahdi Army militia loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, which recently fought fierce clashes against the U.S.-backed Iraqi security forces.