A roadside bomb in the Iraqi town of Mosul left five American soldiers dead on Monday.
The U.S. military has come out and stated that following the roadside bomb, gunmen opened fire on the other American soldiers on patrol.
They were all working around a nearby mosque. The gunmen fled before Iraqi soldiers were able to track them down.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has planned an offensive in Mosul, and troops were getting ready for it on Sunday as tanks and helicopters were brought in.
This comes just as Australia has stated that they are going to withdraw 575 combat troops from Iraq by the middle of 2008.
Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith stated that he did not believe the withdrawal will have any impact on relation between Australia and the U.S.