2 Soldiers Killed, 10 Wounded in Wave of Violence in Iraq

["Alain St-Amour" <alainstamour@xxxxxxxx>]

http://tinyurl.com/n4pr

New York Times
September 12, 2003
2 Soldiers Killed, 10 Wounded in Wave of Violence in Iraq
By KIRK SEMPLE

In a rash of violence against American-led coalition troops in Iraq, two 
coalition soldiers were killed and 10 were wounded by rebels in three separate 
incidents in the past 24 hours, the American military said today.

And in a fourth incident, American troops apparently misidentified the members 
of an allied Iraqi security force today and fired on them, killing eight Iraqi 
policeman and wounding five other people, news agencies reported.

The two coalition fatalities occurred during a pre-dawn raid in a region of 
anti-American resistance west of Baghdad, a coalition military spokeswoman said 
by telephone from Baghdad. Seven coalition soldiers were wounded by small-arms 
fire in the 3 a.m. shootout, the spokeswoman, Specialist Nicci Trent, said.

The incident occurred in Ramadi, a town about 60 miles west of the capital in 
the so-called Sunni Triangle, an area that has been the center of resistance to 
the American occupation. Sunni Muslim Arabs make up one-fifth of the population 
of Iraq but have long dominated the country's political and economic life, and 
many Sunnis fear that the United States occupation may end that primacy.

The military did not disclose the nationalities of the killed and wounded 
soldiers in the Ramadi raid. "They could be members of any country's army that 
is participating in the coalition," another military spokeswoman, Specialist 
Nicole Thompson, said by telephone from Baghdad.

In the apparent friendly fire incident today, an American humvee in Falluja 
opened fire on Iraqi policemen who were chasing a car known to have been used 
by highway robbers, news services reported, quoting an Iraqi police sergeant 
injured in the incident.

"We were chasing a white BMW with bandits," the sergeant, Asem Mohammed, 23, 
told The Associated Press. "We turned around in front of Jordanian Hospital and 
some American forces started shooting at us."

The American military had no comment on the matter.

In another incident early this morning, two coalition soldiers were wounded 
when their military police patrol vehicle struck an explosive device near the 
Abu Ghurayb market in western Baghdad, Specialist Thompson said. The soldiers 
came under small-arms fire from rebels and the vehicle burst into flames, she 
said. The nationalities of the soldiers was not disclosed.

And in yet another attack, a soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division was 
wounded by rebels firing small arms and rocket-propelled grenades near the 
Jordanian Hospital in Falluja, Specialist Trent said. Five non-combatants were 
wounded in the attack, though the spokeswoman did not specify their 
nationalities. The military did not release the time of the attack but 
Specialist Thompson said it happened "in the past 24 hours."

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/12/international/worldspecial/12CND-IRAQ.html?hp=&pagewanted=print&position=


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