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A Look at U.S. Military Deaths in Iraq

Tue Feb 17,10:31 PM ET

By The Associated Press

As of Tuesday, Feb. 17, 540 U.S. service members have died since the beginning of military operations in Iraq , according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 374 died as a result of hostile action and 166 died of non-hostile causes, the department said.

The British military has reported 58 deaths; Italy, 17; Spain, eight; Bulgaria, five; Thailand, two; Denmark, Ukraine and Poland have reported one each.

Since May 1, when President Bush declared that major combat operations in Iraq had ended, 402 U.S. soldiers have died — 259 as a result of hostile action and 143 of non-hostile causes, according to the military.

Since the start of military operations, 2,666 U.S. service members have been injured as a result of hostile action, according to the Defense Department's figures. Non-hostile injured numbered 412.

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The latest deaths reported by the military:

_ A Stryker Brigade soldier was killed in a roadside bombing Monday in Tall Afar in northern Iraq.

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The latest identifications reported by the military:

_ Army Pfc. Nichole M. Frye, 19, Lena, Wis.; killed Monday in Baqoubah, Iraq, when an explosive struck her convoy; assigned to Company A, 415th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve, Kalamazoo, Mich.

_ Army Spc. Michael M. Merila, 23, Sierra Vista, Ariz.; killed Monday in Talifar, Iraq, when his convoy was hit by an explosive; assigned to Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, Fort Lewis, Wash.

_ Army 1st Lt. Adam G. Mooney, 28, Cambridge, Md.; missing since Jan. 25 when his helicopter went down in the Tigris River in Mosul, Iraq; his remains were recovered Saturday; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation; attached to 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Drum, N.Y.

_ Army Spc. Eric U. Ramirez, 31, San Diego; killed Thursday in Abu Gireb, Iraq, when he was attacked by small arms fire and an explosive; assigned to the 670th Military Police Company, Army National Guard, National City, Calif.

_ Army Pvt. Bryan N. Spry, 19, Chestertown, Md.; killed Friday in Baghdad when his vehicle rolled into a ditch; assigned to Company A, 2-504th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

Why would anyone want to watch a soap opera when you have the true to life action goings on right before you.

Alleged Malaysian Nuclear Dealer Missing

By PATRICK McDOWELL, Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The middleman in an alleged deal to supply Libya with nuclear components has disappeared from his Kuala Lumpur residence, and U.S. officials Thursday said Washington wants Malaysia to stiffen export controls to prevent such proliferation.

Malaysia summoned the top U.S. diplomat to protest what the government views as unfair attention on it as President Bush calls for a global crackdown on the international nuclear black market.

The allegations that a Malaysian company produced centrifuge components for Libya's nuclear weapons program has produced the first bump in U.S.-Malaysian relations since Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmamd Badawi took office nearly four months ago.

Malaysia's protest declared the country supports nuclear non-proliferation and was "offended" that Bush unfairly named the nation as a source of parts to Libya's program without specifying other nations, the New Straits Times newspaper reported.

Malaysia thoroughly investigated the origin of the parts and determined that the company involved — which is majority-controlled by the prime minister's son — did not know they were for nuclear use or would end up in Libya, the newspaper reported.

Meanwhile, the former company executive who brokered the Libya deal — Sri Lankan Buhary Syed Abu Tahir — has left his Kuala Lumpur apartment with his family, guards at the building said.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday he did not know the specifics of the diplomatic protest, but "probably it is to express our concern that Malaysia is singled out unfairly and we have been totally vindicated by the facts."

U.S. officials indicated Thursday that the key challenge in Malaysia and other countries was to put export controls in place to keep unwitting companies from being used.

"In keeping with its commitment to non-proliferation, we are encouraging Malaysia to take the steps necessary to bring its export control system in line with international standards, in hopes of preventing future proliferation activities," Embassy spokesman Frank Whitaker said.

The parts, seized en route to Libya last October, were produced by Scomi Precision Engineering, a subsidiary of the oil-and-gas company Scomi Group that is majority-controlled by the prime minister's son, Kamaluddin Abdullah.

The deal to make the parts for a Dubai-based company, Gulf Technical Industries, was brokered by Tahir, whom Bush labeled the "chief financial officer and money launderer" of the network led by Abdul Qadeer Khan, father of Pakistan's nuclear bomb.

The Tahir family left their luxury apartment in an exclusive Kuala Lumpur neighborhood on Wednesday, security guards at the complex said, a day after The Associated Press tracked them down and tried to seek comment. Their current whereabouts are unclear, though they are believed to be under close surveillance by Malaysian authorities.

A senior police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AP on Thursday that as far as he knew, Tahir, who has Malaysian permanent residency, was still in the country.

Tahir's Malaysian wife, Nazimah Syed Majid, said Tuesday evening that her husband was "away." She did not say where.

But a building security guard told the AP that Tahir had come and gone several times from the building Tuesday. The couple left Wednesday morning with their two young children, sending a driver back later to pay outstanding bills.

The telephone was not answered at the apartment Thursday.

Malaysian officials have said Tahir was cooperating with a police investigation into the Khan network, but have given no details. He is free and Najib has said he would remain so unless police determine that he committed a crime.