Posted on 06/21/2006 10:03:01 AM PDT by TexKat
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, and Kristian Menchaca, 23, went missing in the al Qaeda stronghold of Yusufiya, south of Baghdad, on Friday.
They said the two soldiers and a driver fell back a few hundred metres behind two other military vehicles when they came under attack at dusk.
"There was one vehicle in the back of the convoy. It was very dusty. Suddenly these gunmen in Land Cruisers and Toyotas and other cars started firing at the soldiers," recalled farmer Omar Abdullah, 49, who said he was some 200 metres (yards) away.
"A lot of dust was kicked up by the cars so the soldiers in the other cars probably could not see. The gunmen killed the driver. Eventually the other two soldiers were totally outnumbered and they were taken away."
He said about 30 gunmen, some wearing ski masks and baggy black pants and others in white and red checkered headdresses, mounted the ambush.
Chief U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said there was reason to believe two bodies found in the Yusufiya area on Monday night were those of Tucker and Menchaca.
Muhammad Abu Hillal, a soft drinks vendor who also said he was in the area, said a woman was killed in an exchange of fire between the insurgents and the soldiers.
"There were many gunmen. One vehicle was isolated and there was lots of shooting. There was dust everywhere," he said.
The Mujahideen Shura Council has said it abducted the two soldiers but it has offered no proof and Caldwell dismissed the claim.
Residents say the group was highly active in the rural area, terrorising families and forcing them to flee.
30 rebels attacked slain U.S. troops in Iraq-witness PING
It is a War Crime according to the Geneva Convention to fail to wear identifiable uniforms.
"He said about 30 gunmen, some wearing ski masks and baggy black pants and others in white and red checkered headdresses, mounted the ambush."
At least maybe they were already dead before they were mutilated.
they didn't have a chance. I wonder if this is the same farmer that warned our troops about the booby traps and probably saved some lives.
"Chief U.S. military spokesman Major General William Caldwell said there was reason to believe two bodies found in the Yusufiya area on Monday night were those of Tucker and Menchaca."
It takes 30 murdering terrorists (and not insurgents I hate that word) to take two of our soldiers yet the system goes complete agog about one dead Iraqi and 6 marines and one sailor charged in the death. Bullsh*t!
"Residents say the group was highly active in the rural area, terrorising families and forcing them to flee."
you are both speaking too rationally. These barbarians play by their own rules and always have and will. Civilized laws don't apply to them.
"a woman was killed in an exchange of fire between the insurgents and the soldiers."
started firing at the soldiers," recalled farmer Omar Abdullah, 49, who said he was some 200 metres (yards) away.
"At least maybe they were already dead before they were mutilated.
I totally agree lilylangtree!
"warned our troops about the booby traps and probably saved some lives."
I count six separate War Crimes associated with this story. Will the press ever mention that the enemy are War Criminals?
What's your point?
See #14.
Humph! I understand that it has been understood and accepted that this is a new day, a new kind of warfare. Well if that is the case then perhaps Geneva needs her Convention tweaked a bit.
I understand war crimes and the Geneva Convention. I still don't understand your point in highlighting my post that at least the soldiers were dead before they were mutilated. I would think that would bring at least some small measure of comfort to any family member to know that they weren't tortured while alive.
If 30 gunmen opened fire on those soldiers, it's unlikely they were alive while tortured.
You nailed it. I was going to post the exact same words.
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