the eXiLe
05-14-2007, 01:28 AM
An insurgent group linked to al-Qaeda yesterday claimed to be holding three American soldiers in Iraq who went missing after a dawn attack on their patrol south of Baghdad.
The “Islamic State in Iraq” posted a statement on a website saying that it had carried out the raid, in which five men were killed near the Sunni stronghold of Mahmoudiya on Saturday morning, and claimed that it had captured three “crusader soldiers”.
The US military yesterday confirmed that three members of the patrol were missing. Commanders launched a search and rescue mission involving helicopters, jets and spotter drones, as well as 4,000 US troops, across the hazardous Sunni belt.
The “Islamic State” group offered no proof that it was holding the soldiers. But Barham Salih, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, said: “It appears they were abducted by al-Qaeda . . . the indications are that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack.” President Bush is receiving regular updates on the missing soldiers.
Abductions of US troops have been comparatively rare in Iraq, but yesterday there were fears that the weekend capture was part of a planned act of spectacular brutality designed to shake any remaining confidence American public opinion has in the war.
Mr Salih said: “No one can be complacent about al-Qaeda and its affiliate organisations. They are adapting and moving into other areas in trying to inflict mayhem.”
The eight-member patrol – seven US soldiers and one Iraqi interpreter travelling in two Humvees – was ambushed at 4.44am 12 miles (19km) west of Mahmoudiya. “We saw smoke rise from the area. Three vehicles were on fire and a fourth one had fallen into a canal,” said one farmer. Others said that the vehicles were hit by a roadside bomb before being attacked with small arms.
US commanders said that a nearby unit had heard the explosions and tried to communicate with the ambushed patrol, without success. An unmanned spotter drone flew overhead 15 minutes later and saw the burning vehicles but a coalition Quick Reaction Force did not reach the scene until 5.40am, nearly an hour later.
“In the United States military we have a thing called the soldier’s creed, and it says ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade’,” Major-General William Caldwell, a US military spokesman, said in Baghdad.
“We believe in this deeply and therefore will make every effort available to find the three missing soldiers.”
The interpreter was among the five killed, and only one soldier remained to be identified, he confirmed.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said that the US military was “still looking at” claims that the troops had been abducted.
Last June al-Qaeda militants kidnapped two US soldiers at a checkpoint in nearby Yusufiya. Their mutilated and booby-trapped bodies were recovered days later.
In Baqouba, north of Baghdad, Iraqi gunmen yesterday carried out two public executions, warning locals not to cooperate with US forces. Pulling two handcuffed men from the boot of their car they shot them in the head outside the cinema and public market during the morning rush hour, shouting: “This is the destiny of traitors.”
On the diplomatic front Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a formal request from the US to discuss security in Iraq at meetings in Baghdad.
The Iranian state news agency said that Iran had received the request through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which acts as an intermediary for the US in the country.
Gordon Johndroe, the White House spokesman, said that the planned talks would involve Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador to Iraq. “This is not about the US and Iran. This is about Iraq. This is about Iran playing a constructive policy role inside Iraq,” he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1784991.ece
The “Islamic State in Iraq” posted a statement on a website saying that it had carried out the raid, in which five men were killed near the Sunni stronghold of Mahmoudiya on Saturday morning, and claimed that it had captured three “crusader soldiers”.
The US military yesterday confirmed that three members of the patrol were missing. Commanders launched a search and rescue mission involving helicopters, jets and spotter drones, as well as 4,000 US troops, across the hazardous Sunni belt.
The “Islamic State” group offered no proof that it was holding the soldiers. But Barham Salih, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister, said: “It appears they were abducted by al-Qaeda . . . the indications are that al-Qaeda was responsible for the attack.” President Bush is receiving regular updates on the missing soldiers.
Abductions of US troops have been comparatively rare in Iraq, but yesterday there were fears that the weekend capture was part of a planned act of spectacular brutality designed to shake any remaining confidence American public opinion has in the war.
Mr Salih said: “No one can be complacent about al-Qaeda and its affiliate organisations. They are adapting and moving into other areas in trying to inflict mayhem.”
The eight-member patrol – seven US soldiers and one Iraqi interpreter travelling in two Humvees – was ambushed at 4.44am 12 miles (19km) west of Mahmoudiya. “We saw smoke rise from the area. Three vehicles were on fire and a fourth one had fallen into a canal,” said one farmer. Others said that the vehicles were hit by a roadside bomb before being attacked with small arms.
US commanders said that a nearby unit had heard the explosions and tried to communicate with the ambushed patrol, without success. An unmanned spotter drone flew overhead 15 minutes later and saw the burning vehicles but a coalition Quick Reaction Force did not reach the scene until 5.40am, nearly an hour later.
“In the United States military we have a thing called the soldier’s creed, and it says ‘I will never leave a fallen comrade’,” Major-General William Caldwell, a US military spokesman, said in Baghdad.
“We believe in this deeply and therefore will make every effort available to find the three missing soldiers.”
The interpreter was among the five killed, and only one soldier remained to be identified, he confirmed.
A Pentagon spokeswoman said that the US military was “still looking at” claims that the troops had been abducted.
Last June al-Qaeda militants kidnapped two US soldiers at a checkpoint in nearby Yusufiya. Their mutilated and booby-trapped bodies were recovered days later.
In Baqouba, north of Baghdad, Iraqi gunmen yesterday carried out two public executions, warning locals not to cooperate with US forces. Pulling two handcuffed men from the boot of their car they shot them in the head outside the cinema and public market during the morning rush hour, shouting: “This is the destiny of traitors.”
On the diplomatic front Iran’s Foreign Ministry confirmed that Tehran had agreed to a formal request from the US to discuss security in Iraq at meetings in Baghdad.
The Iranian state news agency said that Iran had received the request through the Swiss embassy in Tehran, which acts as an intermediary for the US in the country.
Gordon Johndroe, the White House spokesman, said that the planned talks would involve Ryan Crocker, the US Ambassador to Iraq. “This is not about the US and Iran. This is about Iraq. This is about Iran playing a constructive policy role inside Iraq,” he said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/iraq/article1784991.ece