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“The al Qaeda that’s here is not guys … from Syria or Somalia. They are local people who grew up here,” Adgie said. “They were bad, bad teenagers who stole cars, and (with) the lure of fast money from al Qaeda … they joined al Qaeda, and they carry out al Qaeda’s bidding.” These home-grown terrorists employed “ultra-violence” against their fellow villagers to “strike fear in their hearts,” the colonel explained. Coalition forces from the final phase of the U.S. troop surge streamed into the region earlier this summer.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi army medic on Sunday told a U.S. military hearing of the horrific scene that confronted him in a tiny home south of Baghdad where he found the naked and burned body of a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped and murdered by American soldiers. The medic testified on the opening day of a hearing to determine whether five U.S. soldiers must stand trial in the March 12 rape-slaying of Abeer Qassim al-Janabi and the killing of her parents and sister in the town of Mahmoudiya. It is among the worst in a series of cases of alleged...

YUSUFIYA, Iraq (Reuters) - Two slain U.S. soldiers who went missing south of Baghdad were ambushed by as many as 30 insurgents who closed in on them in vehicles and opened fire, according to people who said on Wednesday they were witnesses. It was not possible to independently verify their accounts. The U.S. military has yet to explain how the soldiers may have been isolated in what Iraqis call "The Triangle of Death" for its frequent insurgent attacks. But two Iraqis who said they were witnesses gave similar accounts of the moments when Privates First Class Thomas Lowell Tucker, 25,...

If in the case of Iraq there has been any lessening of resolve among the American electorate, and to read the newspapers and listen to a great many television pundits one might certainly think there has, the events of the past 48 hours should put these doubts to rest. American forces have recovered the remains of two soldiers, Privates Thomas Tucker and Kristian Menchaca, ambushed and kidnapped at a check point in the aptly named “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad. Specialist David Babineau, died in the attack and was not captured. Iraqi Major General Abdul-Aziz Mohammed Jassim, director of...

Missing Soldier's Uncle Criticizes U.S. By LYNN BREZOSKY BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) - As the families of two missing soldiers waited to hear if two bodies found Tuesday were their loved ones, the uncle of one lashed out at the government, saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe. ``Because the U.S. government did not have a plan in place, my nephew has paid for it with his life,'' Ken MacKenzie, uncle of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, told NBC's ``Today'' show. U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the military has recovered what are believed to be the remains...

Updated: 13:36, Monday June 19, 2006 A terrorist group linked to al Qaeda says it has kidnapped two US soldiers in Iraq.In a statement posted on the internet, it said the pair were snatched near Yusufiya.  American and Iraqi forces have been searching for two soldiers who went missing after an attack on a checkpoint near Yusufiya on Friday.One solider was killed in the attack.More follows ...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - An Iraqi farmer said Sunday that he saw seven heavily armed gunmen capture two American soldiers during an attack on a road checkpoint south of Baghdad, while U.S. troops searched for their comrades for a second day. Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that. The White House promised to do everything it could to find the soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: "Give them back." Gunmen, meanwhile, kidnapped 10 bakery workers in Baghdad, and...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- An Iraqi farmer said Sunday that he saw seven heavily armed gunmen capture two American soldiers during an attack on a road checkpoint south of Baghdad, while U.S. troops searched for their comrades for a second day. Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that. The White House promised to do everything it could to find the soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: "Give them back." Gunmen, meanwhile, kidnapped 10 bakery workers in Baghdad,...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraqi witnesses say they saw two U.S. soldiers who survived an attack at a checkpoint near Baghdad being led away by masked insurgents to a pair of cars, The New York Times is reporting in its Sunday edition.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. troops searched Sunday for two missing soldiers in the volatile Sunni triangle south of Baghdad as witnesses claimed the Americans were led away by masked gunmen after the attack that left one of their comrades dead. Ground forces, helicopters and airplanes fanned out shortly after Friday's attack and U.S. military spokesman U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said Saturday that four raids had been carried out. He said a dive team also was to search for the men, whose checkpoint was near a Euphrates River canal not far from Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad -...

(AP) Minneapolis A National Guard member from Morton, Minn. has been killed in Iraq, the Minnesota National Guard announced Sunday. Spec. Brent W. Koch, 22, died Friday in Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, from injuries he received when an improvised explosive device detonated near his military vehicle, the Guard said. Koch was assigned to the Minnesota Army National Guard's Company E, 2nd Battalion, 136th Infantry Combined Arms Battalion in Redwood Falls. His unit deployed in March 2006 as a part of the 34th Brigade Combat Team. "We are focusing our efforts on helping the family members cope through this difficult time," Maj....

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A farmer claiming to have witnessed an attack on a U.S. military checkpoint said Sunday that insurgents swarmed the scene, killing the driver of a Humvee before taking two of his comrades captive. The U.S. military has only said the soldiers are missing. U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad searching for the missing servicemen. At least four raids had been carried out, but the captives were not found, the military said. Another local resident said the soldiers searched houses on Sunday and promised a $100,000 reward...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. troops searched Saturday for two soldiers that went missing after an attack that killed one of their comrades at a traffic checkpoint in the so-called "Triangle of Death" just south of Baghdad, the military said. U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said four raids had been carried out since Friday's attack and that ground forces, helicopters and airplanes were taking part in the search. Countrywatch: Iraq The soldiers came under attack at a traffic checkpoint southwest of Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. A quick reaction force arrived at the scene after hearing small arms fire...

The New York Times reported that Iraqi residents in the area said they saw two soldiers taken prisoner by a group of masked guerrillas. It said the two surviving soldiers were led to two cars and driven away.

BAGHDAD, Iraq, June 17 — American soldiers began an intensive search on Saturday for two of their comrades who apparently were captured by masked insurgents after an ambush in the chaotic area south of the capital. [...] According to local Iraqis in the area, who were interviewed by telephone from Baghdad, the two American soldiers who survived the gun battle were led away by the insurgents to a pair of waiting cars. Hassan Abdul Hadi was tending to his date and apple trees near the village of Qaraghul when he heard gunfire and explosions. When he walked to the road,...

Coalition, Iraqis Launch Massive Search for Missing Soldiers By Jim GaramoneAmerican Forces Press Service BAGHDAD, June 17, 2006 – Coalition and Iraqi officials have launched a massive search operation for two coalition soldiers missing following an incident in Yusufiyah, Iraq, yesterday. Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said today a third soldier was killed in the fight. The names are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. The soldiers were manning a checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River. Forces at a nearby traffic-control point heard an explosion and small-arms fire at about...

Fox news reports General Caldwell will have briefing regarding missing soldiers. Coming up......

BAGHDAD, Iraq — The U.S. military says two soldiers are missing after their team came under attack at a traffic control point in Yusafiyah, Iraq Friday night, that left one other coalition soldier dead.

BAGHDAD, Iraq Jun 16, 2006 (AP)— A soldier in the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq was killed and two others were missing after an attack on a checkpoint southwest of Baghdad on Friday, the U.S. military said. The attacked took place around 8 p.m. near the town of Yusufiyah, about 12 miles southwest of Baghdad. "After hearing small arms fire and explosions in the vicinity of the checkpoint, a quick reaction force responded to the scene," a military statement said. "Coalition forces have initiated a search operation to locate and determine the status of the soldiers." The statement didn't provide any...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The U.S. military reported that two U.S. soldiers were missing and one was dead after their traffic control point was attacked near Yusufiyah Friday night. After hearing an explosion and small-arms fire a U.S. military quick-reaction force responded to find the one soldier killed but no sign of the other two. A search was under way.