Active Unit News

Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Soldier in Iraq
36 minutes ago
By D'ARCY DORAN, Associated Press Writer
TIKRIT, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was killed and another was wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb 15 miles south of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s hometown of Tikrit on Wednesday, the military reported.
The victims were riding in an armored personnel carrier, second in a four-vehicle convoy, Maj. Josslyn Aberle, spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, said. The death brought to 59 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since May 1, when President Bush (news - web sites) declared major combat over.
Also Wednesday, U.S. troops identified Saddam Hussein loyalists in custody as two key members of the ousted dictator's Republican Guard and a paymaster for his Fedayeen Saddam militia.
The military also reported killing two Iraqis in separate incidents in the Baqouba region, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. Aberle said the two were killed after opening fire on U.S. troops. She gave no other details.
Officials with the 4th Infantry said they released 10 other men taken in a sweep through the outskirts of Tikrit Tuesday, keeping four in custody.
The military still had not released names but said the four included a Republican Guard corps-level chief of staff, a guard division commander and a paymaster for the militia. A fourth man kept in custody was not identified at all.
None of the identified detainees is among the 55 most-wanted Iraqis featured on the Army's deck of playing cards.
All those detained in the sweep were members of a family described as a pillar of support for the ousted regime, said U.S. Lt. Col. Steve Russell.
"They were trying to support the remnants of the former regime by organizing attacks, through funding and by trying to hide former regime members," Russell said.
The death comes as the Bush administration faces growing questions over how long troops will remain in Iraq (news - web sites). The commander of U.S. forces has said all troops in Iraq should expect to serve for at least a year, with brief rest breaks in the region and possibly a few days at home.
On Wednesday, Iraq's U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told ABC's "Good Morning America" the return of troops depends on the progress Iraqis make in forming a sovereign government.
He said he expected it to take eight months to draw up a constitution, then elections would be held to create a government. That government "will want to negotiate with America (on U.S. troops leaving), find out whether it thinks it's able to defend its own security, but my guess is we're going to be here a while."
On Tuesday, Bremer urged Iraqis and the world to look beyond the daily shootouts and power cuts to newly found freedoms in Iraq.
"I don't accept the definition of a country in chaos. Most of this country is at peace," Bremer told reporters.
"We have a problem with attacks against coalition forces in a small area of the country by a small group of bitter-end people who are resisting the new Iraq. We will deal with them and we will dominate them. They will either be killed or they will be captured."
Bremer said that while Iraqis complain of unsafe streets and shortages of power, they must also realize that Saddam's fall has improved their lives.
"I think it's important to ... look beyond the shootouts and blackouts and remind ourselves of a range of rights that Iraqis enjoy today because of the coalition's military victory," he said.
Meanwhile, about 12 miles north of the capital, in an area called al-Taji, a burst pipeline shot flames 200 feet into the air.
U.S. military spokeswoman Nicole Thompson confirmed there was a pipeline fire but had no further details.
The fire sent a massive black cloud drifting over Baghdad for several hours Tuesday. Iraqi firefighters eventually put out the blaze with flame-retardant chemicals.
It was unclear whether the fire was an accident or the work of saboteurs, but many pipelines across Iraq have been hit by guerrillas seeking to destabilize U.S. reconstruction efforts.
Another pipeline fire was spotted northwest of Baghdad, near the town of Haditha.
A U.S. soldier was killed while riding in a Humvee in Ramadi Tuesday, a site of frequent attacks on American troops 60 miles west of Baghdad. A U.S. military spokesman said the convoy was hit by three roadside bombs wired to explode in succession. Two other soldiers were wounded.
Another American soldier was found dead in his bunk Tuesday morning at a base in Ramadi. In Mosul, in the far north of the country, the U.S. military reported a soldier died when his Humvee collided with a taxi.

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