U.S. forces kill two in Baghdad mosque clash

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces killed two gunmen after a patrol came under fire from a mosque in a Shi'ite neighborhood of Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said.

"A patrol performing routine security operations around the area took small arms fire from the mosque and requested air support ... to come and assist them," U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Scott Bleichwehl said.

The incident, which Bleichwehl said lasted for about 90 minutes, took place in the southwestern Shi'ite neighborhood of al-Bayaa before weekly Friday noon prayers.

A source at Yarmuk hospital said six people were wounded in the attack, including a woman.

He said the wounded were saying a U.S. attack helicopter had fired near the mosque. Local media also said a U.S. helicopter had attacked a mosque in the al-Bayaa area.

Bleichwehl said "the helicopters were called in but didn't fire". A Reuters journalist saw bullet holes in the mosque's walls but no sign that it had been fired on by a helicopter.