A Soldiers Blog

US soldier killed south of Baghdad


Armed attacks on US troops in Kufah, Fallujah, as occupation searches for two missing soldiers in Balad.


KUFAH, BALAD & FALLUJAH, Iraq - One US soldier was killed and nine others wounded late Thursday in an attack on their unit in the town of Kufah, south of Baghdad, a US military officer said Friday.

The soldiers out on patrol with Iraqi police were attacked by gunmen, Marine Major Rick Hall said in the town, near the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf, around 130 kilometres (80 miles) south of Baghdad.

The attack occurred at around 8:30 pm (1630 GMT), he added.

"They were conducting a motorised patrol and the exact circumstances are still under investigation," he said.

"It is really unusual because the situation between Najaf and Kufah is usually quiet," Hall said.

The latest death brings to 57 the number of US troops who have died since President George W. Bush declared the war in Iraq effectively over on May 1, according to a count from US military statements.

Meanwhile, US military intelligence believes that Fedayeen militia abducted two US soldiers and their Humvee light armoured vehicle for use in attacks on US troops in Iraq, an army officer said Friday.

"They believe Fedayeen militia were using it, trying to get close to Americans with the vehicle to probably conduct another terrorist attack against them," Major Robert Twinner said.

"The last time they spotted the vehicle was in Baghdad," he said.

The two soldiers were believed to have gone missing Wednesday in a remote location around 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Balad, he added.

"The best intelligence reports we have right now is that it was Fedayeen. They actually abducted the soldiers and took the vehicle," he added.

"We have no status on the soldiers at this time, we haven't found them but we will find them," he insisted, adding that they were from the 3rd Infantry Division and not the 4th Division as a soldier had previously said.

The Fedayeen militia loyal to Saddam Hussein put up some of the strongest resistance to US and British forces who invaded Iraq in March to topple Saddam's regime.

In the flashpoint town of Fallujah, US troops guarding the local government building came under rocket propelled grenade (RPG) attack overnight, local residents said on Friday.

There were no reports of any US casualties in the attack, at around 1:00 am (2100 GMT Thursday), when an unknown number of attackers fired a single RPG at the US position, they said.

The US troops returned fire but apparently without hitting any of the attackers, who fled. The troops deployed throughout the town, backed by helicopters, and sealed off its main road in search of the attackers.

A US army spokesman said he was unable to confirm the attack, the second in three days.

US forces have recently increased their presence in the town, carrying out intensive searches in swathes of the region.

The town, around 50 kilometres (30 miles) west of Baghdad, has been something of a flashpoint since US troops shot dead at least 16 people at a demonstration in late April.

While the major combats have been declared over and the regime dissolved, US troops trying to rebuild the country have come under daily guerrilla-style attacks which have caused nearly 20 deaths.