Global Arab Network | Member of Iraqi army kills 2 US soldiers

Translate this article to your language:

GANPublications

e-Publications

Add Site to Favorites

Add Page to Favorites

Make Homepage

Share This Page

RSS Feed

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| |

Member of Iraqi army kills 2 US soldiers

A gunman wearing an Iraqi army uniform opened fire on a U.S. military team Saturday, killing two American soldiers and wounding three others at a combat outpost in northern Iraq, the military said.
The US army said the man was also killed in the incident but gave little information about the attack.

But Iraqi military reports said he was a soldier also working as an Imam at a mosque on the base.

No motive was given for the attack but Mosul is seen as the last remaining urban stronghold of al-Qaeda in Iraq.

The US army said it had received reports of "small arms fire" in Hamam al-Alil, 20 km (13 miles) south of Mosul.

"According to initial reports, an individual dressed in an Iraqi army uniform fired on the coalition forces and was killed in the incident," US military spokesman Major Derrick Cheng was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The mayor of the town, Saad Ali al-Jubouri, said US helicopters were hovering in the area and roads to the base had been sealed off.

The security situation has been improving in some parts of Iraq, but Mosul remains one of the country's almost troubled areas with a strong Sunni insurgency.

Similar incidents involving attackers in uniform have happened in the past.

The US described an attack in February - in which an Iraqi policeman shot and killed a US soldier and an Iraqi translator - as "an anomaly".

The BBC's Natalya Antelava in Baghdad says the latest killings will add to concerns about militant infiltration in the security forces.

Military and civilian deaths in Iraq

Following are the latest figures for soldiers and civilians killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 according to (Reuters):

- U.S.-LED COALITION FORCES:

United States 4,281
Britain 179
Other nations 139

- IRAQIS:

Military Between 4,900 and 6,375#
Civilians Between 91,676 and 100,083*

# = Think-tank estimates for military under Saddam Hussein killed during the 2003 war. No reliable official figures have been issued since new security forces were set up in late 2003.
* = From www.iraqbodycount.net (IBC), run by academics and peace activists, based on reports from at least two media sources. The IBC says on its website the figure underestimates the true number of casualties.

Global Arab Network

Add comment

The opinions of the authors in articles published are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Global Arab Network
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published comments are the opinions of private individuals and do not reflect the views of Global Arab Network