US and Iraqi forces killed three suspected insurgents during a helicopter assault mission west of Baghdad, the US military said Friday. Iraqi soldiers led the raid Thursday on a mosque in Karmah, a town in Iraq's western Anbar province some 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of the capital, the US said in a statement. The target was a high-ranking al-Qaida in Iraq leader, believed to be responsible for overseeing murders, sniper attacks and the planting of roadside bombs, it said. During the operation, people fleeing the mosque fired at American troops - wounding three of them, the military said. US and Iraqi forces retaliated with ground fire and close air support, killing three insurgents, it said. All three wounded Americans underwent surgery at a US military hospital for non-life threatening injuries, the statement said.