April 16 (Bloomberg) -- Coalition forces in Iraq shot dead three Iraqi policemen by mistake today during a raid on a suspected terrorist cell near the town of Ramadi, the U.S. military said in a statement.

During the raid, the troops were shot at by men in two separate buildings and returned fire, according to the statement e-mailed from Baghdad.

``We do everything we can to reduce risk to friendly forces,'' said Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver, a spokesman for Multi National Force - Iraq, adding coalition forces did not know Iraqi police were in the area. One policeman was also wounded, the military said.

The U.S.-led coalition and Iraqi government forces are trying to contain an insurgency in Iraq and also stem sectarian violence between the Shiite and Sunni Muslim communities.

The so-called friendly fire incident is under investigation, according to the statement. Seven suspected terrorists with alleged links to the al-Qaeda network in Iraq were detained during the raid.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: April 16, 2007 03:31 EDT