The Iraq beat goes on! (english)
jamie 5:50am Wed Oct 29 '03
article#358397

This is an instructive mainstream piece from yahoo. It details most recent attacks on US GI's. Two fatalities today. Bring our troops home now! www.bringthemhomenow.org
This is an instructive mainstream piece from yahoo. It details the most recent attacks on US GI's. Two fatalities today. Bring our troops home now! www.bringthemhomenow.org

Attack on U.S. Tank Kills 2 GIs in Iraq
1 hour, 17 minutes ago

By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two American soldiers were killed when their Abrams battle tank was damaged by resistance fighters, U.S. officials said Wednesday, as the number of U.S. soldiers killed in combat since major fighting ended topped the wartime total.


AP Photo


Reuters
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In a separate attack, seven Ukrainian troops were wounded in the first ambush of a multinational unit in the Polish sector south of Baghdad, coalition officials said.


The latest deaths bring to 115 the number of American soldiers killed in combat in Iraq (news - web sites) since President Bush (news - web sites) declared an end to major fighting May 1. Defense Department figures — updated on its Web site Tuesday — show 114 U.S. soldiers died in the active combat phase, which began March 20.


The Abrams tank was disabled when it was struck by a land mine or a roadside bomb Tuesday night during a patrol near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division. A third crewman was evacuated to a U.S. hospital in Germany, she said.


It was believed to be the first M1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed since the end of major combat May 1. During the active combat phase, several of the 68-ton vehicles — the mainstay of the U.S. Army's armored forces — were disabled in combat.


The latest attacks, including a nighttime mortar barrage in Baghdad, followed a day of violence in which insurgents targeted American forces and Iraqis who work with the occupation authorities. U.S. officials also announced that Baghdad's Deputy Mayor Faris Abdul Razzaq al-Assam was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting.


The proliferation of attacks on Iraqis allied with the occupation bodes ill for attempts by the U.S.-led authorities to persuade more Iraqis to join in administering the country and play a greater role in providing security. Resistance forces have targeted several prominent figures, including Aquila al-Hashimi, a member of the Governing Council, who was fatally shot Sept. 20.


A spokesman for the multinational division at Camp Babylon said the attack on the Ukrainians occurred when two of their armored personnel carriers rolled over land mines near Suwayrah about 40 miles southeast of Baghdad.


After the vehicles were disabled, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the disembarked soldiers, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.


About 1,650 Ukrainians are serving in the Polish-led stabilization force patrolling central and southern Iraq.


In Baghdad, half a dozen mortar rounds exploded late Tuesday in an upscale Jadriya neighborhood across the Tigris River from the U.S.-led coalition headquarters but caused no damage or casualties, the U.S. military said Wednesday.


One landed in a field close to a palace once occupied by one of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s daughters, now a headquarters for the U.S. civil-military affairs command. Another struck Baghdad University's College of Physical Education, damaging the wall of an enclosed volleyball court. There were no casualties in the shelling.


In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, insurgents fired late Tuesday on the south gate at the main U.S. military base there. At least one American soldier from the 4th Infantry Division was wounded, witnesses said. A patrol was sent out to search for the assailants, who fled after firing on the troops from a nearby rooftop.


And a U.S. military convoy was attacked Tuesday night by small arms fire in the northern city of Mosul, the military said. There were no casualties.


Rockets were fired Tuesday night at a U.S. military compound in the oil center of Kirkuk, according to Saleh Sabah, a member of the Iraqi National Accord which has offices near the compound.


Sabah said the U.S. troops returned fire with mortars and blocked all roads leading to their garrison.


In Fallujah, a flashpoint Sunni Muslim city 40 miles west of Baghdad, a car exploded Tuesday afternoon on a major street, killing at least four people. The explosion occurred about 330 feet from a police station and 100 feet from a school, but the target was unclear.