Marines fire on mosque to repel attacks 18 bodies with signs of torture found around Baghdad
RAMADI, Iraq (CNN) -- A coordinated attack from three directions on the governor's compound in Ramadi Monday left an unknown number of insurgents dead after an hourlong fight with U.S. Marines. The insurgent assault -- which included car bombs, mortars, rocket- propelled grenades and machine-gun and small-arms fire -- occurred between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., the U.S. military said in a written statement. Militants used a suicide car bombing to attack an observation point, wounding one Marine. Two other car bombs were stopped and destroyed by Marines firing from observation posts, the military said.(Watch troops under fire in governor's compound -- 2:45) Insurgents also fired on the compound from a mosque about 330 yards (300 meters) away in the center of the city with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. The Marines called for air support against the fire coming from the mosque, but ground forces arrived first. "The Marines returned fire but continued to be attacked from the mosque's minaret," the military statement said. "The Marines fired one 120 mm tank round and several 7.62 mm machine-gun rounds into the minaret, after which fire from the mosque ceased." CNN correspondent Arwa Damon said she saw two tank rounds fired into the mosque. "This is the fourth time in three-and-a-half weeks that the Ramadi Government Center has received attacks from the Fatemat Mosque," said Lt. Col. Stephen M. Neary, commander of 3rd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment. He said the Marines "only used the proportionate amount of force necessary." "Coalition forces take significant measures to respect all religious sites," said Lt. Col. Bryan Salas, a Marine spokesman. "But we always maintain the inherent right of self-defense. "When insurgents use holy places as safe havens from which to attack coalition forces, it is important that we act quickly to defend ourselves and innocent Iraqi civilians," he said. U.S. military officials said some insurgents were killed in the mosque, but had no specific figures. The Marines also said they killed a three-man mortar team during the hourlong fight. The governor was at the compound Monday but was not injured. It was just another day in the restive provincial capital, where officials said the compound sometimes comes under attack four of five times daily. Central Ramadi is the most dangerous part of the restive city, which is home to three Iraqi army brigades and what a U.S. military commander described as a growing police force. Western Iraq's sprawling Anbar province has been the scene of some of the worst fighting in the 3-year-old Iraqi war. Signs of torture The violence in Iraq was taking place in a political vacuum left as politicians negotiate the formation of a unity government four months after parliamentary elections. Iraq's parliament, the 275-member Council of Representatives, had originally been scheduled to meet Monday, but Speaker Adnan Pachachi said the session would be delayed a "few days."(Full story) Police on Monday found 18 bodies in Baghdad, including a prominent Sunni politician's brother who had been missing about three weeks. Taha Mutlaq, who disappeared in late March, had been shot several times in the head and appeared to have been tortured, police said. His brother, Saleh Mutlaq, is the head of the National Dialogue Front, which won 11 seats in Iraq's parliament. Police also found 17 unidentified bodies around the capital, all of them shot in the head and showing signs of torture. Twelve of the bodies were discovered in Dora, a Sunni district in southern Baghdad. Two other bodies were found in Khadhamiya, a Shiite area of northern Baghdad, and three turned up in the Shu'la neighborhood in northwestern Baghdad. The discovery of bodies killed in similar fashion has been a regular occurrence in Baghdad since sectarian violence flared after an attack on a revered Shiite mosque February 22. Attacks kill 4 civilians Police said fighting between Iraqi security forces and insurgents broke out in the Adhamiya district in northern Baghdad on Monday, resulting in the deaths of three civilians. A police station came under fire around 1 a.m., and Iraqi army units closed the area about four hours later for a security sweep. In addition to the three civilians killed in the crossfire, eight people were wounded. Also Monday, a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi army patrol in central Baghdad, killing one civilian. One Iraqi soldier and two other civilians were wounded, police said. Other developments Saddam Hussein sat silently in court Monday as prosecutors presented a report from handwriting experts that linked the former dictator to a document approving rewards for intelligence agents involved in a crackdown on Shiites, according to The Associated Press. Hussein's lawyers objected to the report, requesting analysis by outside experts. The trial was adjourned until Wednesday. (Full story) The media skirmishes over Donald Rumsfeld continued Monday, as four retired U.S. generals wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal defending the embattled secretary of defense and suggesting that some of his critics don't understand the war on terrorism. (Full story) CNN's Arwa Damon, Aneesh Raman and Auday Sadik contributed to this report. Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report. 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