BAGHDAD, Aug 31 (KUNA) — US troops observed and engaged an armed group of Al-Qaeda operatives, killing 12 and destroying two vehicles near the town of Karmah on August 29, the Multi-National Force (MNF) said in a statement Friday.

A group of three men was seen loading objects into a truck 11 km northeast of Fallujah, in an area known to be a weapons cache site. A second group of four men arrived in another truck, followed by a third group of six men on foot, the statement added.

A team of marines was dispatched to better observe the scene and a third cargo truck carrying three men waving weapons and wearing ski masks approached the group a few moments later, the statement said.

The marines called for air support, where a jetfighter dropped two precision-guided bombs that destroyed the initial two cargo trucks. Marines called for artillery fire on the dismounted terrorists immediately following the air attack, it added.

Twelve members of Al-Qaeda were found dead upon investigation of the scene, where numerous weapons and roadside bomb assembly materials were also found.