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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stockman_scott who wrote (31181)	11/8/2003 10:40:33 AM
From: Rick Faurot	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

Iraq Insurgents Kill Two U.S. Paratroopers Near Baghdad By SLOBODAN LEKIC The Associated Press Saturday, November 8, 2003; 9:36 AM BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents killed two U.S. paratroopers and wounded another west of Baghdad on Saturday as the U.S. military cracked down on residents of Saddam Hussein's hometown after guerrillas apparently shot down a Black Hawk helicopter there. The two 82nd Airborne Division soldiers died when a homemade bomb exploded beside their vehicle about 8:30 a.m. in Fallujah, a center of Sunni Muslim resistance 40 miles west of Baghdad, the military said. Their deaths brought to 34 the number of American soldiers who have died in Iraq this month as resistance escalated during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. In Geneva, meanwhile, the international Red Cross said Saturday it was temporarily closing its offices in Baghdad and Basra because of security. The Red Cross had planned to cut back on foreign staff after the Oct. 27 truck-bombing at its Baghdad office but had planned to keep the offices open with reduced staff. "We decided that in view of an extremely dangerous and volatile situation that we would have to temporarily close our offices in Baghdad and Basra," said Florian Westphal, spokesman for the International Committee of the Red Cross. The Red Cross maintains a staff of about 30 foreign staffers and 600 Iraqis. In Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, guerrillas fired six mortar rounds at a police station in the city, Iraqi police said Saturday. Several shells missed their target and fell on nearby houses, slightly injuring a resident. The city, which was once considered to be relatively free of guerrilla activity, has seen dozens of attacks on U.S. forces in recent weeks, indicating that the rebellion has spread northward from its original stronghold in the so-called Sunni Triangle north and west of Baghdad. Troops in the city recovered seven shoulder-launched SAM-7 Strela anti-aircraft missiles, the military said Saturday. Six were turned in by a citizen in exchange for a monetary reward, a statement said, while an infantry patrol found the seventh hidden in tall grass. Patrols also found a weapons cache consisting of 333 hand grenades, 92 rocket-propelled grenades and two RPG launchers, and arrested seven men believed to have been involved in previous attacks. The military also said that a man suspected of having served as one of Saddam's bodyguards was detained Saturday in the northern oil city of Kirkuk. In Friday's helicopter crash, all six U.S. soldiers aboard were killed, capping the bloodiest seven days in Iraq for Americans since the fall of Baghdad. The cause of the crash remains uncertain although several U.S. officers believe it was shot down. The U.S. command said in a statement Saturday that initial findings "discount the use of surface-to-air missiles as a possible cause." U.S. officers have long been concerned about the safety of aviation because of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of shoulder-fired missiles still missing in Iraq after the collapse of Saddam's regime in April. On Oct. 25, insurgents shot down a Black Hawk over Tikrit, injuring one crewman. On Sunday, insurgent gunners brought down a Chinook transport helicopter west of Baghdad, killing 16 Americans in the bloodiest single strike against U.S. forces since the war began March 20. An Apache attack helicopter was shot down in June in the western desert but the two crewmembers escaped injury. Following the crash, Lt. Col. Steven Russell, commander of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, also said U.S. forces had reimposed the 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew on Tikrit, which had been lifted at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan last month. "This is to remind the town that we have teeth and claws and we will use them," Russell said after his troops blasted two abandoned houses and a warehouse with machine gun and heavy weapons fire. U.S. troops late Friday also fired mortars and jets dropped at least three 500-pound bombs around the crash site, rattling windows over a wide area. Other U.S. jets streaked over Tikrit after sundown. At least three mortars were also fired onto the U.S. compound but caused no damage. ---- Associated Press writer Jim Gomez in Tikrit contributed this report.