Posted on 05/27/2003 5:58:51 AM PDT by Ace Correspondent
12.15pm update
Two US soldiers killed in Falluja
Agencies
Tuesday May 27, 2003
Two US soldiers were killed and nine injured after coming under attack in the central Iraqi town of Falluja today.
The soldiers were manning a traffic control gunpoint in the troubled city, 30 miles west of Baghdad, when they were fired upon by the occupants of one of two vehicles that had pulled up together, the American military said.
The attack was the latest in one of the most violent periods for US troops in recent weeks. Seven soldiers have been killed in various incidents, some of them accidental, since Sunday.
Two unidentified attackers were killed by US forces during today's gunfight in Falluja, a hotbed of support for the former Ba'athist regime. Six Iraqis were captured and were being interrogated, said Major Randy Martin, a spokesman for the US army's V Corps.
US soldiers were searching the first vehicle and had just found weapons inside when the occupants of the accompanying vehicle opened fire and threw a grenade.
"Fire opened up from all directions," Major Martin said.
US troops responded with fire from Bradley fighting vehicles, machine guns and small arms. An army helicopter landed during the firefight to evacuate the wounded and was damaged when a Bradley struck it while manoeuvring into a firing position.
The wounded soldiers were evacuated to a military aid station in the area.
All the US soldiers hit were from the 3rd Armoured Cavalry Regiment, based in Fort Carson, Colorado. The names of the two dead soldiers were not immediately released.
Protests against the army's presence in Falluja turned violent when US soldiers fired on crowds on April 28 and April 30, killing 18 Iraqis and wounding at least 78.
The soldiers said then that they were defending themselves and the crowd fired first, but the Iraqis said no shots were fired at the Americans.
Meanwhile, a soldier was killed yesterday and another wounded when their convoy was ambushed in northern Iraq. Another soldier died and three were wounded when their vehicle hit a land mine or a piece of unexploded ordnance in Baghdad, the military said today.
On Sunday, a US soldier was killed and another was injured in southern Iraq when a munitions dump they were guarding exploded. The blast was not thought to be a result of hostile action, central command said.
· Another US soldier died today and two others were injured in a road accident near the town of Tallil, when their tractor-trailer collided with another vehicle. Another soldier drowned after diving into an aqueduct in northern Iraq.
Not a set for a redeux of Blackhawk Down II, the iraqi version.
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