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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Iraq Military Operations |
| 2005-04-06 |
| Two U.S. servicemembers were killed during military operations in Iraq, military officials in Baghdad reported today. A soldier assigned to Task Force Baghdad was killed today when his patrol hit an improvised explosive device in southern Baghdad. Four other soldiers were wounded by the blast and were evacuated to a nearby coalition treatment facility. Also, a Marine assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force was killed April 4 during combat operations in the Anbar province. No further details on the cause of the Marine's death were provided due to security reasons. The names of both servicemembers are being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Military officials also reported that a detainee who was being treated for gunshot wounds at a military treatment facility died of injuries April 4. The detainee was wounded in an attack on coalition forces two weeks ago. In other developments, Task Force Baghdad soldiers detained nine suspected terrorists during early-morning raids on several objectives south of Baghdad April 4. The military said one detainee is a suspected leader of a terror cell. Another is believed to be an improvised explosive device engineer for another terror organization. Weapons and bomb-making materials, as well as materials used for recruiting and training terrorists were also confiscated during the raids, the military reported. "Anti-Iraqi forces have taken a major hit here," Army Lt. Col. Clifford Kent, a Task Force Baghdad spokesperson, said in a statement. "Through continued cooperation from the public, Iraqi police and the Iraqi army, combined with Task Force Baghdad soldiers, we are stopping violence at the source, before it spills into the streets." Elsewhere, coalition forces and Iraqi army soldiers met resistance from dozens of insurgent fighters during a search for weapons east of Baghdad in the lightly populated Diyala province April 4. During an ensuing firefight, coalition forces, including Army and Air Force aviation assets, provided fire support to Iraqi soldiers. A quick response force from Task Force Liberty's 278th Regimental Combat Team supported the Iraqi army attack on the ground. The military did not say whether injuries or deaths occurred during the attack. Also today, the military reported that an uprising at a coalition internment facility at Camp Bucca April 1 ended with only minor injuries to four guards and 12 detainees. The Camp Bucca facility houses some 6,000 detainees. Military officials said the disturbance began when detainees protested the transfer of unruly prisoners to another compound. The protesters began chanting, throwing rocks and setting several tents on fire, the military said. |
| Posted by:Chuck Simmins |