U.S. Soldiers Seized in Iraq, Group Says
5 minutes ago
BEIRUT, Lebanon - A previously unknown group claimed to have captured
two U.S. soldiers in an attack on a military convoy west of Baghdad,
according to a statement broadcast Friday by the Lebanese Broadcasting
Corp.
Pentagon (news - web sites) officials said they
were looking into the report and said they had
no information if it was true.
The typewritten statement from a group calling
itself Al-Madina al-Munawara Division was
delivered to LBC along with two identification
cards, the privately owned station said. The
authenticity of the documents could not be
immediately verified.
LBC broadcast close-ups of the cards — a
laminated military ID in the name of Capt.
Katherine V. Rose of the 142nd Corps Support
Battalion from Fort Polk, La., and a
Pennsylvania driver's license with the name
Andrew C. Peters, 37. A call to the address on
the driver's license was answered by a person
who hung up.
According to a database of National Guard
units nationwide, the 142nd Corps Support
Battalion is based at Fort Polk and currently is
deployed in Iraq (news - web sites).
The statement said the two Americans were
wounded and captured when an Al-Madina unit
attacked their convoy west of Baghdad. It did
not say when or exactly where the attack took
place.
It warned British and Australian troops, as well
as all other countries that may send troops to
Iraq, that they will be subjected to more
attacks.
The statement said Al-Madina Al-Munawara
Division is made up of members of the former
Iraqi army under the regime of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Saddam's old Republican Guard, comprising some of Iraq's best-equipped
and most-dedicated troops, included a unit called Al-Madina al-Munawara.
Literally, the name means "City of Light" in Arabic. It's also the formal name
of the city of Medina, the second holiest city after Mecca in Saudi Arabia. |
