Two American Soldiers Killed in Baghdad
Two American Soldiers Are Reported Shot and Killed in Separate Baghdad Attacks

The Associated Press



BAGHDAD, Iraq May 8 —
Two American soldiers were killed Thursday in separate attacks at least one of them a bold daylight shooting in Baghdad, military officials said. At least one other soldier was injured when a U.S. vehicle hit an explosive in part of the city believed to have been cleared of land mines.

In the most brazen attack, an unidentified Iraqi walked up to a soldier on a bridge and opened fire with a pistol, apparently at close range, according to senior U.S. Army officers in Baghdad who had heard reports of the shooting.




The officers said the slain soldier, whom they did not identify, belonged to the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment. Calls to that regiment's public affairs officer here went unanswered Thursday night.

No further information was immediately available, and it was unclear what happened to the assailant. U.S. Central Command in Qatar said it was unaware of the incident.

U.S. forces say they trade fire with armed Iraqis almost daily across the country. Still, an incident like the one on the bridge is nonetheless highly unusual even in postwar Iraq.

It and the other incidents demonstrate that the country is still fraught with danger for U.S. forces a month after Saddam Hussein's government fell.

In a separate attack, a U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division soldier was killed Thursday when a sniper shot him in the head in east Baghdad, said Capt. Tom Bryant, spokesman for the Army's V Corps, which is based at Baghdad's airport. He had no further details of the incident.

Also Thursday, an American Humvee hit a "probable land mine" while crossing a median in a road near Baghdad's airport, Bryant said. Details were sketchy, but at least one U.S. soldier was injured in that incident.

Earlier, Bryant said, a group of children motioned to a military convoy traveling down another road about a quarter-mile (a half-kilometer) away to avoid a plastic bag in the street. The convoy followed their advice, but an Iraqi truck coming up behind the convoy ran over the bag and it exploded.

The driver of the truck escaped injury, but an Iraqi man standing nearby suffered burn and shrapnel wounds. He was taken to a U.S. field hospital and was reported in shock.

Other incidents have bedeviled U.S. forces in recent days, though none have been injured.

On Wednesday, the military said, two Iraqis shot at reconnaissance elements of the 3rd Infantry Division with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades as they traveled north of Baghdad. The unit returned fire, the military said, killing one assailant.

Also Wednesday, near the northern town of Baiji, a convoy from the 4th Infantry Division came under rifle and machine gun fire. The unit attacked the assailants' positions and captured five individuals, weapons, and other military, Central Command said. No Americans were injured.


Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


 http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20030508_1096.html

The wire services are intended for print media as well as "live" media. Because the former require sunstantial lead time to print papers, the military often provides full versions immediately (like including the names of the casualties) but with instructions "don't run that for X hours" to give them time to notify the next of kin.

Probably Yahoo released "too early" and was notifed to take it down or simply noticed their mistake. Why don't you recheck and see if the story reappeared. Look, I can't speak about other parts of the US and I can't speak about television news (we don't watch television) but by and large our local newspapers do appear to be carrying the sort of reports all too many of us here are claiming they do not.

The story, or something very like it, is on the front cover of the International Herald Tribune today in its print version available in Britain.
It is possible that it was released prematurely, hence its disappearance from Yahoo's website from one minute to the next.
But more generally, corporate media handling of attacks on US/British troops in Iraq is an area worth watching. Will they report more or less what happens, ignore it or seek to present it as part of general "lawlessness" rather than a politically or religiously motivated dislike of occupation troops?

I also note that AOL is running propaganda and distorting news. The large news sources are not accurate, reliable, or relevant due to collusion at the National Treasury Employees Union.

Visit the site for free music and news. Ladies and Gentleman, we live like Centuries, and I hope we live to see the utopian angels. Say Hello to the Little Ibrahim girl of San Francisco. I saw her and reposted her here. You will never hear of that little girl. You will only hear of some dripping drooping Boob.

The UK was wise to move away from the Euro, or did they? The US needs to get the NTEU from our throats or we will be picking our brains up in another thought and dimension.