[monday]

"So were they the soldiers or not????"

Probably not. They were driving civilian vehicles, one of them was a woman, and they were of different nationalities. My guess is that they were probably press of some sort but they could have been affiliated with a relief organization, or who knows? All kinds of western civilians are over there now.

[angkor]

probably press of some sort but they could have been affiliated with a relief organization, or who knows?

The article said someone in the crowd mob displayed a DoD ID taken from one of the corpses.

Probably civilian contractors, and perhaps some military escorts out of uniform (?). Brit and U.S. policy is that contractors are not supposed to travel on the road without a second vehicle and armed military escort.