Coalition Forces Engaged Terrorists Near Baqubah

>>> CHRON.com has this report today and it goes in part like this... U.S. troops backed by aircraft attacked a Shiite town north of Baghdad at dawn on Friday, killing at least 25 Iraqis the military described as criminals who were involved in the transport of weapons. But Iraqis at the scene said the dead were civilians, though some were armed...
Read this story in full at link below...
Airstrikes by U.S. kill 25 Iraqis

>>> WashingtonPost.com reports it this way...
U.S. Airstrike on Village in Diyala Kills at Least 25

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Statement from Multi-National Force - Iraq: Coalition forces engaged terrorists near Baqubah

Saturday, October 06, 2007
Media have been reporting that the 25 individuals killed in an operation early Friday morning at a location near Baqubah were innocent civilians. This is not true. During an operation to locate a Special Groups leader believed to be associated with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps – Quds Force, ground forces came under heavy fire from a large number of individuals. Air support was requested to suppress the threat, resulting in 25 terrorists killed.

In this instance, we have confirmed that the 25 criminals who were killed were responsible for the attack on our forces and in fact were members of an extremist group operating in the Baqubah region.

Coalition forces respond to unprovoked attacks in self-defense, taking all possible measures to preclude the loss of innocent civilian lives.

(From press release #A071006b, Corrected Version, by MNF-I, Press Desk, Baghdad, Iraq)