American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15, 2005  - Three Task Force Baghdad soldiers were killed today when their patrol struck an improvised explosive device northwest of Baghdad, military officials in Iraq reported.

The soldiers' names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Meanwhile, military commanders report Iraqi soldiers and U.S. Marines, soldiers and sailors have cleared most of Ubaydi in Operation Steel Curtain, but pockets of resistance and improvised bombs still pose "a considerable risk to both military personnel and civilians," according to a Multinational Force Iraq statement. Searches continue to ensure that the last of the terrorist fighters are captured or killed and their improvised bombs are located and rendered safe, the statement added.

Five car bombs were located and destroyed in New Ubaydi. One car contained about 20 large-caliber artillery shells. These car bombs can either be detonated remotely or used to launch suicide attacks, officials said, though suicide car-bomb attacks are rare in western Anbar province. They more commonly are used in the crowded streets of Baghdad, Ramadi or Mosul, officials said.

This morning, after Iraqi soldiers and Marines received small-arms fire from a building in New Ubaydi, Marines called in coalition aircraft to target the building. After the air strike, which officials said resulted in minimal effects on the target, the firing from the building stopped and two men carrying white flags ran into an adjacent building. Moments later, about 15 civilians -- including women, children and elderly people -- left the building. Iraqi soldiers took them to a safe location.

Near Ubaydi, Iraqi army soldiers and U.S. forces are providing security, food, water and blankets to about 1,400 civilians displaced by the fighting.

Ubaydi is located on the banks of the Euphrates River, 20 kilometers from the Syrian border.

In other news, Iraqi soldiers conducting independent raids detained seven known insurgents Nov. 14. The soldiers, of the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 6th Iraqi Army Division, also detained 23 other suspects, who are being held for further questioning.

In Fallujah, Iraqi soldiers detained a man on a motorcycle as he tried to flee the scene of a deadly Nov. 14 attack on an Iraqi army convoy. The man is believed to have detonated an IED that hit the convoy from the 2nd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force Division, killing one Iraqi soldier and wounding three others. The four-vehicle convoy was about three and a half miles north of Fallujah when the IED exploded, officials said.

A motorcycle was seen parked on the side of the road before the blast. When a man attempted to ride away on it shortly after the detonation, Iraqi soldiers stopped and detained him. The man is being held for further questioning.

A joint raid in Baqubah by Iraqi and coalition forces Nov. 14 brought the leader of an insurgent cell into custody. Members of the 4th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 5th Iraqi Army Division, and coalition troops also detained six suspected insurgents and a man suspected of making counterfeit identification cards.

Coalition aircraft flew 58 close-air-support and armed reconnaissance sorties Nov. 14 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. U.S. Air Force F-15s, Predators, and British Royal Air Force GR-4s struck insurgent targets near Karabilah. The F-15s expended precision-guided bombs, and the Predators expended Hellfire missiles against insurgent positions. U.S. Air Force F-16s struck targets near Balad. The F-16s used a precision-guided bomb against a building used by insurgents. Other U.S. Air Force F-16s and a Predator struck targets near Karabilah. The Predator fired a Hellfire missile against insurgent positions.

U.S. Navy F/A-18s provided close-air support to coalition troops in contact with insurgents near Ramadi. In addition, 10 U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft flew missions in support of operations in Iraq. Also, Royal Air Force fighter aircraft performed in a nontraditional ISR role with their electro-optical and infrared sensors.

(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq, Multinational Security Transition Command Iraq, and U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward news releases.)