| Submit your comments on this article |
| Iraq |
| Iraqi Troops Killed 2 U.S. Soldiers |
| 2006-06-20 |
| Two California soldiers shot to death in Iraq were murdered by Iraqi civil-defense officers patrolling with them, military investigators have found. The deaths of Army Spc. Patrick R. McCaffrey Sr. and 1st Lt. Andre D. Tyson were originally attributed to an ambush during a patrol near Balad, Iraq, on June 22, 2004. But the Army's Criminal Investigation Division found that one or more of the Iraqis attached to the American soldiers on patrol fired at them, a military official said Tuesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the military did not plan to release the report until Wednesday McCaffrey's mother, Nadia McCaffrey, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press that soldiers who witnessed the attack have told her that two Iraqi patrolmen opened fire on her son's unit. The witnesses also said a third gunman simultaneously drove up to the American unit in a van, climbed onto the vehicle and fired at the Americans, she said. Her son was shot eight times by bullets of various calibers, some of which penetrated his body armor, she said. She believes he bled to death. Nadia McCaffrey has become a vocal critic of the war in Iraq, and said her son had reservations about it, too, though he served well and was promoted posthumously to sergeant. Patrick McCaffrey joined the National Guard the day after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, his mother said. McCaffrey, 34, and Tyson, 33, were members of the California National Guard. Both were assigned to the Army National Guard's 579th Engineer Battalion, based in Petaluma. So this story is based on an interview with an "anti-War" parent, who has not been officially informed of the details of her son's death. Twentyfour hour rule applies, I think. |
| Posted by:trailing wife |
| #2 I'm surprised this hasn't happened more often. Shite supremists like Sadr have long joined the Iraqi defence forces and Sunni terrorist forces have recently tried to join in large number in order to spy and sabotage. It's a credit to screeners and US forces keeping a wary eye that this isn't a common occurrence. |
| Posted by: ed 2006-06-20 23:01 |
| #1 I don't know TW, makes perfect sense to me. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2006-06-20 22:02 |