Killed, by those we freed...

[BLUEHAWK]

• EUROPE NEWS
• JANUARY 15, 2011, 11:29 A.M. ET

Three U.S. Soldiers Killed in Iraq



By SAM DAGHER

BAGHDAD—Three American soldiers were killed and one was wounded in two separate attacks in Iraq on Saturday, the U.S. military said.
The deadlier of the attacks happened in the morning when a man dressed in an Iraqi army uniform opened fire at U.S. soldiers while they were conducting a training session for Iraqi forces at a military base on the outskirts of the volatile northern city of Mosul, Col. Barry A. Johnson, spokesman for the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, said.
The attacker killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded a third before he was shot dead, Col. Johnson said, declining to give further details because the attack was under investigation. The wounded soldier was flown to a field hospital at the Balad air base north of Baghdad for treatment, he said.
A third U.S. soldier was killed in a separate attack in central Iraq, while "conducting operations," according to a military statement. The U.S. Army's central division includes Baghdad and the western Anbar Province. Col. Johnson said he couldn't discuss the second attack.
This isn't the first time U.S. soldiers have been attacked by members of Iraq's security forces or insurgents dressed like them. In September an Iraqi soldier shot and killed two U.S. soldiers and wounded nine inside an Iraqi army base in the town of Tuz Khurmatu, north of Baghdad. The troops were resting between joint operations with Iraqi forces against insurgents in the area when the attack occurred.
A U.S. soldier was killed by Iraqi police officers inside a police station in Mosul in February 2009, while two other American soldiers were shot dead by an Iraqi soldier at a combat outpost also in Mosul in November 2008.
The deaths on Saturday brought to five the number of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq since the start of the year, underscoring the fragility of the security situation and the dangers that remain, despite a dramatic drop in overall violence and the shift in the U.S. mission in the country last August.
Less than 50,000 American troops remain in Iraq and they are focused on advising and training Iraqi forces and backing them up in areas where they lack adequate resources, particularly in the air.
All U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq by the end of this year, in accordance with a security agreement signed between Baghdad and Washington in 2008.
The fresh American casualties came two days after a visit by Vice President Joe Biden that included an emotional address to U.S. troops in Baghdad.
"Because of the incredible sacrifices that have been made since we arrived here, the Iraqi people for the first time, I suspect, I would argue, in their history, on the verge of literally creating a country that will be democratic, sustainable and, God willing, prosperous—that it could have a dramatic impact on this entire region," Mr. Biden told troops while paying tribute to what he said were the 4,422 U.S. soldiers killed and the nearly 32,000 wounded since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.
"We owe you more than we could ever repay you," Mr. Biden said.
U.S. military commanders believe insurgents of all stripes in Iraq are engaged in targeting U.S. troops in their fight for dominance ahead of the full withdrawal of American soldiers by the end of December. The groups include Shiite militias backed by neighboring Iran and Sunni groups tied to al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein's former regime, especially in the north. One commander said these groups were competing for the "bragging rights" of driving the U.S. out of Iraq.


Write to Sam Dagher at sam.dagher@wsj.com

[reconeil]

Disgustingly seems like nothing ever changes.

Apparently the only difference between now and 2003 are uniforms.
Historically hating each other (plus Americans) Shiits & Sunnis now wear same uniforms.

Sorry all you Brave & Courageous Guys & Gals out there (ie. in Iraq) taking the heat, plus.
But,...our wonderful & all-knowing Civilian Warlords constantly refuse admitting the obvious.

People whom have already fought SEVEN Hundred Year Holy Wars and are right now fighting their EIGHTH JIHAD,...can't possibly change their ways nor will ever quit.

Besides, any Military Dictatorial Rulers believing can change what many believe both armpits of the earth (re. Iraq & Afghanistan) into Toledo or Dallas,...are fools. Mullahs will never ever permit such.

Neil

[revwardoc]

We should pull all our troops out those Muslim-infested sh1tholes, cut off any foreign aid we give them, and tell them to let Allah provide for their welfare. With any luck they'll kill each other off.

[BLUEHAWK]

Originally Posted by revwardoc

We should pull all our troops out those Muslim-infested sh1tholes, cut off any foreign aid we give them, and tell them to let Allah provide for their welfare. With any luck they'll kill each other off.

Amen, and amen.