Will Schumer say bomb the Sunni terrorist camps for this? U.S. Trying to Identify Body Found in Iraq
By DAMIEN CAVE and JON ELSEN
Published: May 23, 2007
nytimes.com
MAHMUDIYA, Iraq, May 23 — The American military is examining a body found in the Euphrates River today that the Iraqis believe is one of three American soldiers who were seized in an ambush on May 12. Four Americans and an Iraqi soldier were killed in the May 12 attack, and both armies have been searching since then for the missing soldiers.
Separately, nine American soldiers and marines were killed by roadside bombs and gun battles across Iraq on Tuesday, the military said today, bringing the American death toll in Iraq to 80 so far in May, compared with 104 in all of April, The Associated Press reported.
Iraqi police said the body found in the river today was clothed in an American military uniform, had a tattoo and had two bullet wounds to the head. It was spotted about 40 miles south of Baghdad in the small city of Mussayib, which is known as a haven for Sunni insurgents. The location was just south of the area where the missing soldiers’ unit operates.
Maj. Webster Wright, an American public affairs officer, confirmed that a body was found and was being examined, but he declined to say where the body was found or under what circumstances.
“We are in possession of the body,” Maj. Webster Wright, an American public affairs officer, said today. “We have not identified the body. We will give the truth to the families first.”
To limit the chance of rumors and information being sent back the United States, military bases in the area have been put on an Internet blackout, preventing e-mail messages from being sent from the area.
Al Abbas al-Fatlawi, 30, a resident of Mussayib, said he and others spotted the body floating in the river at around 10:30 a.m. and dragged it to shore. In addition to bullet wounds to the head, the body also appeared to have bullet wounds to the abdomen and marks on the back, he said. The residents notified the police, who turned over the body to the United States Army. The police said it did not appear to have been in the river for a long time, indicating that the kidnappers might still be in the area.
The three soldiers were seized after their patrol was ambushed in Mahmudiya, about 20 miles south of Baghdad.
The search for the missing soldiers continued today, with missions operating out of major bases in Mahmudiya and Yusifiya and smaller bases in the area. Since the May 12 attack, 4,000 American troops and 2,000 Iraqis have been searching for the missing soldiers around the clock.
Members of the 10th Mountain Division based in Mahmudiya have conducted at least five air assault operations in the last 24 hours, a battalion commander, Lt. Col. Robert Morschauser, said this afternoon. Though his troops were getting tired, he said, they would continue to search until all the missing are found.
In the dining hall at a forward operating base in Mahmudiya, American soldiers gathered around televisions, anxiously watching the latest cable news reports about the discovery of the body.
Pfc. Ryan McClymonds, 21, of Miami, Fla., said that if the body found in the river does prove to be one of the missing Americans, it would at least represent some progress in what has so far been a frustrating search.
“Something is better than nothing for the families,” Private McClymonds said. After several days chasing leads and coming up empty, he said, “If we find out it’s nothing, it hurts. We just want to give some comfort to the families.
“It’s just three guys — we should be able to find them. But we are having a really hard time.”
Violence continued across Iraq today. A suicide bomber wearing an explosive belt walked into a coffee shop in Mandali, 60 miles east of Baghdad, and blew himself up, killing 11 people and wounding 25 others, police said.
The American military said that the nine American deaths in separate incidents on Tuesday included seven soldiers and two Marines. Six of the soldiers were killed by roadside bombs, and the seventh was killed by small arms fire, the A.P. reported; of the Marines, the military said only that they were killed in combat operations in Anbar province.
Damien Cave reported from Mahmudiya and Jon Elsen from New York. An employee of The New York Times contributed from Babel. |
