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Spain, Japan pledge to defy terror
Slightly EFLSpainâs prime minister has vowed to keep troops in Iraq despite "great pain" at the killing of seven intelligence agents in an ambush. "Freedom is under threat from the terrorists," said Jose Maria Aznar, whose country is a key European member of the US-led coalition in Iraq. Japan, which lost two diplomats in a separate ambush near Tikrit, has also pledged "not to give in to terrorism". Mr Aznar brushed aside Spanish opposition demands for troops to be withdrawn, declaring that his country would "fulfil its commitments". The intelligence agents had, he said, "lost their lives doing their duty as professional soldiers, good soldiers working for peace and security". The officersâ eight-man convoy was ambushed near the town of Hilla, as it returned from a mission. Only one man survived. Spain has 1,300 troops serving with the Polish-led multinational contingent in the south of the country. In Tokyo, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said his country would continue to meet its "responsibilities for humanitarian aid and reconstruction" "Japan must not give in to terrorism," he told reporters. "Why does this kind of thing happen?" he continued, visibly upset. "I am furious." In a third ambush, a Colombian contractor was killed and two wounded. The contractorsâ car came under fire near the town of Balad on Saturday, US army spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said on Sunday in Baghdad. Two US soldiers were killed in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the Syrian border on Saturday, while unconfirmed reports say two South Koreans were wounded in a roadside attack on Sunday. Welcome to FundoWorld. Posted by: Bulldog 2003-11-30 |
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