Gunfight In Bagdad on Monday

Monday a heavy gunfight broke out in Iraq, in the center of Baghdad, within blocks of the country's most fortified facilities, including the U.S. Embassy and interim Iraqi government headquarters. Five more American troops were killed in the dangerous Anbar province.

A dawn attack on an oil pipeline supplying fuel from northern Iraq to Baghdad and clashes that killed three militants in the country's turbulent west underlined the security difficulties ahead of Jan. 30 national elections.

On Baghdad's Haifa Street on Monday, witnesses said gunmen killed an Iraqi employed by coalition authorities not far from the Green Zone, a heavily guarded compound where American and Iraqi forces protect government officials, diplomats and private contractors.

Initially, witnesses said the gunmen fought U.S. troops. But the U.S. military said late Monday that American troops were not involved.