- The two US soldier deaths confirmed in this story have
already been posted in a different (Reuters) story on the homepage. However,
this story offers a bit more information about an RPG attack on a US ammunitions
truck (which was mentioned in the Reuters story, but not in this detail).
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- "The US vehicle had exploded when assailants attacked
a convoy apparently transporting weapons and ammunition in the town...
witnesses said NONE of the occupants were seen emerging from the vehicle
as it burst into flames."
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- Now, according to a military spokesman, there were NO
casualties. How is this possible?
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- More US Troops Killed In Iraq
- news.com.au
10-20-3
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- BAGHDAD (AFP) -- The post-war
US combat toll in Iraq rose to at least 103 today, while US President George
W Bush said a new audiotape purportedly by Osama bin Laden threatening
Washington over its occupation of Baghdad meant that "the war on terror
goes on."
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- Turkey's plan to send troops to join the US-led coalition,
which has aroused strong opposition from the US-installed Iraqi interim
leadership, also sparked fresh protests at home, while Iran for the first
time voiced reservations about the proposal.
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- Coalition officials announced that two soldiers of the
US 4th Infantry Division were killed and one wounded in a rocket-propelled
grenade and small arms attack late yesterday near the northern oil centre
of Kirkuk, 260km north of Baghdad.
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- The two deaths confirmed by the coalition bring to 103
the number of Americans who have died in combat since US President George
W Bush declared an end to major hostilities on May 1.
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- And in the flashpoint town of Fallujah, an Iraqi was
killed and another wounded when US soldiers opened fire after they came
under rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack while removing a military vehicle
hit earlier by an RPG, witnesses and hospital sources said.
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- The US vehicle had exploded when assailants attacked
a convoy apparently transporting weapons and ammunition in the town, witnesses
said.
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- A US military spokesman confirmed an attack on a vehicle
that had broken down by the town 50km west of Baghdad.
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- "It came under fire. There were no casualties,"
said Lieutenant-Colonel George Krivo, although witnesses said none of the
occupants were seen emerging from the vehicle as it burst into flames.
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- Following the attack, a number of people in Fallujah
chanted slogans in support of ousted strongman Saddam, toppled by US forces
six months ago, and bin Laden's al-Qaeda terror network.
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- "This is a first reaction after bin Laden's declaration,"
said witness Ahmed Suheil, 40.
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- In two "messages" to the Iraqi and American
people aired by Qatar's Al-Jazeera television yesterday, a recorded voice
claiming to be that of the al-Qaeda leader threatened to send suicide bombers
to the United States and to attack any forces joining the coalition in
Iraq.
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- Bush, in Bangkok for a state visit and an Asian economic
forum, said the recording reinforced his resolve for Washington's "war
on terror".
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- "I think that the bin Laden tape should say to everybody,
the war on terror goes on; that there's still a danger for free nations
and that free nations need to work together more than ever to share intelligence,
cut off money, and bring these potential killers, or killers to justice,"
he said.
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- Iraq's interim Governing Council also reacted angrily
to bin Laden's intervention following the rash of car bombings since August,
which many believe bear the hallmark of al-Qaeda-inspired groups.
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- "We don't want bin Laden to use Iraq to settle old
scores with the Americans," council member Muwaffak Rubai said.
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- Italy, one of the US allies singled out by the speaker
purported to be bin Laden, said today it was taking seriously the latest
alleged threats and was stepping up security measures.
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- Another of the targets, Spain, said there was no evidence
it faced a particular terrorist threat.
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- The Washington Post reported that the US military was
developing a plan to gradually reduce troop levels in Iraq from the present
130,000 to about 50,000 by mid-2005.
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- Withdrawals would begin in the second quarter next year
and would see the force reduced to fewer than 100,000 by the middle of
that year, the report said. The plan has not yet been approved by Defence
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
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- Plans are also being made to withdraw British and US
forces from key cities in Iraq, starting with Basra and Mosul, a military
official told the Post.
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- The Pentagon hopes to turn over as many basic security
functions as possible to Iraqi security forces and foreign peacekeepers.
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- But in Turkey, one of the proposed participants in the
peacekeeping force, police detained scores of protesters demonstrating
across the country against the government's decision to send troops to
Iraq, Anatolia news agency reported.
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- Iran today also voiced reservations over the deployment
of Turkish troops in Iraq, saying such a move should not be made without
the consent of the United Nations or Iraqi people.
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- "We think any action in this regard has to be done
with the consent of the UN and the Iraqi people," foreign ministry
spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told reporters.
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- The prospect of a Turkish deployment in the war-ravaged
country has triggered harsh objections from Iraq's interim leadership.
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- Yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan conceded
for the first time that Ankara might abandon plans to send troops to its
southeastern neighbour if they are not welcome.
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- Copyright 2003 News Limited.
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- http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,7612003%255E401,00.html
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