By: E&P Staff and The Associated Press Two Americans killed in Iraq on December 26 were shot, it turns out, not by insurgents but by an Iraqi soldier they were serving with.
The Pentagon's official release on their deaths had said vaguely: "They died Dec. 26 in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds suffered from small arms fire during dismounted combat operations.They were assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas."
Killed were Capt. Rowdy J. Inman, 38, of Panorama Village, Texas, and Sgt. Benjamin B. Portell, 27, of Bakersfield, Calif.
Local news outlet in California routinely referred to Portell's unit being "ambushed" in Iraq, presumably by the enemy.
The U.S. military said Saturday that an Iraqi soldier apparently shot dead two American service members for ``reasons that are as yet unknown'' while they were on a joint patrol north of the capital.
Three other U.S. soldiers and one civilian interpreter were wounded in the Dec. 26 attack, the military said in a statement. The shooting occurred as American and Iraqi soldiers were conducting operations to establish a combat outpost in Ninevah province in northern Iraq.
The Iraqi soldier who allegedly opened fire fled the scene but was identified by other Iraqi army personnel and was then captured, the military said. Two Iraqi soldiers are being held in connection with the incident.
U.S. and Iraqi investigations into the incident are under way, the military said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here