Free Republic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - One report reaching the U.S. military said that some of the 12 soldiers whose supply convoy was ambushed near Nassiriya in southern Iraq on Sunday were killed by their captors although they tried to surrender, a U.S. defense official said on Wednesday. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the report received from the field said that the U.S. soldiers "weren't given the opportunity to surrender. They attempted to surrender." Some of the U.S. soldiers instead were killed by the Iraqi forces, the official said. The official did not characterize the nature or reliability of...

U.S. Marine supply convoy attacked in Iraq SOUTHERN IRAQ, March 26 (Reuters) - A U.S. Marines supply convoy came under attack in southern Iraq on Wednesday in a firefight lasting some 30 minutes, a Reuters reporter with the convoy said. There were no immediate reports of casualties in what the U.S. troops called a coordinated attack carried out by unidentified assailants from several different directions. Reuters correspondent Matthew Green said the attack started with a sudden burst of automatic weapons fire during a routine stop which sent the Marines diving for firing positions. They used machineguns, mortars and anti-tank missiles...