In Iraq, resistance fighters launched fresh assaults on U.S. soldiers in Iraq, killing at least two servicemen and wounding a third in shootings and rocket-propelled grenade attacks, the military said Thursday. The military also reported that a soldier died in what it described as a non-hostile gunshot incident.
A soldier was fatally shot Wednesday evening near the city of Mahmudiyah, 25 kilometers south of Baghdad, said Spc. Nicci Trent, a spokeswoman for the military, AP reported.
Another soldier was killed and one wounded in a rocket-propelled grenade attack late Wednesday near Tikrit, some 200 kilometers north of Baghdad, Trent said. The soldiers were taken to a nearby medical facility, but one of them died.
In the city of Ramadi, some 100 kilometers west of the capital, three separate mortar attacks targeted U.S. troop, but there were no reports of casualties, the military said.
Meanwhile, a US soldier died in a “non-combat” incident in Balad, a town around 75 kilometers north of Baghdad, a US military spokesman also said Thursday. The incident happened in the last 24 hours, he said, but provided no further details.
A total of 212 US troops have been killed in Iraq, including 143 who died in combat since the outset of the war, the Defence Department said Thursday. The total includes 74 soldiers who have died since May 1, when US President George W. Bush declared the end of major hostilities in Iraq, Lieutenant-Colonel Cynthia Colin said.
Since May 1, 29 soldiers have been killed in combat, and 45 others died in non-hostile situations, she added.
Commenting on the situation, Bush admitted his government had security problems in Iraq but pledged US forces would be "tough" in dealing with the attackers.
"There is no question we have got a security issue in Iraq," said Bush after meeting in Gaborone with Botswanan President Festus Mogae. "We are just going to have to deal with it person by person. We are going to have to remain tough," conveyed the US leader. (Albawaba.com)
