Thwarted Ambush Was Highly Coordinated, U.S. Officials Say:
"American military officials said today that a pair of ambushes of American forces in central Iraq on Sunday reflected a level of planning, scale and coordination not seen among guerrilla forces since the regime of Saddam Hussein was ousted last spring."

American forces killed 54 people in the intense firefight in the town of Samarra after soldiers delivering Iraqi currency to two banks were bombarded with small-arms and antitank-grenade fire, General Kimmitt, a senior military spokesman, said. He added that 22 attackers had been wounded and that one had been detained. On Sunday, the military put the number of Iraqis killed at 46.

A military statement said that "many of the dead attackers were found wearing fedayeen uniforms," a reference to the militias loyal to Mr. Hussein that put up some of the fiercest resistance to the American-led invasion last spring.

American military officials said that the attackers had been moving in cars, had split their force of 30 to 40 people into smaller groups at each bank, and had set up ambush points on routes into and out of the city.

"It is our belief that this was a coordinated effort," Col. Frederick Rudesheim told reporters at a news conference outside Samarra today. He said the attackers had launched the ambush with small-arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars.

The Associated Press quoted residents in Samarra as saying that American forces had responded by firing at random, prompting civilians to get guns and join the fight. The news agency said many civilians had expressed bitterness about recent American raids in the night.

Military officials said the clash was the largest battle in the country since coalition forces toppled the Hussein government last spring. They originally reported that at least 18 of the attackers had been wounded and 11 had been captured. General Kimmitt did not explain the discrepancies in the figures given on Sunday and today. No American deaths were reported.…

The soldiers, members of the Fourth Infantry Division, met simultaneous ambushes on two convoys rolling separately through Samarra, about 60 miles north of Baghdad, according to a division spokesman, Master Sgt. Robert Cargie.

The convoys were delivering new Iraqi dinars to two banks and were guarded by about 100 American soldiers. When the shooting began, the Americans responded with automatic-rifle fire, Bradley fighting vehicles and other weapons, officials said.

Afterward, large shell casings, rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles were strewn across the field of battle. So were dozens of bodies, apparently all Iraqi, many clad in the ninja-like black uniforms of fedayeen paramilitary fighters loyal to the overthrown Hussein government, according to Sergeant Cargie. Five American soldiers and one civilian traveling with one of the convoys were wounded.

Coalition firepower overwhelmed the attackers, Sergeant Cargie said.

The American display of firepower was among the most deadly for Iraqi fighters since the occupation began. But residents and police officers in Samarra said that less than a dozen Iraqis had been killed and contended that many of the wounded were civilians, The A.P. reported from the scene. The residents were clearly incensed at the immense firepower used by the Americans.…

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/01/international/middleeast/01CND-IRAQ.html?pagewanted=all&position=