Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
New York Times
May 24, 2007 By Damien Cave
MAHMUDIYA, Iraq, May 24 — The American military confirmed today that a body found in the Euphrates River on Wednesday is that of Army Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., one of three American soldiers seized in an ambush on May 12, according to a military official. Private Anzack, 20, was from Torrance, Calif.
American military officials said Iraqi police officers had recovered the body about 40 miles south of Baghdad, near Musayyib and 20 to 25 miles south of Mahmudiya, in an area known to be a safe haven for Sunni insurgents.
The officials on Wednesday declined to provide details on the location or condition of the body and cut off Internet and telephone access for soldiers at bases to limit rumors. “We will give the truth to the families first,” said Maj. Webster Wright, a spokesman for the Second Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, which has been leading the search.
In the ambush, the attackers killed four Americans and an Iraqi soldier. For 11 days, thousands of American and Iraqi troops have searched day and night for the missing soldiers.
Iraqi police officials said the body was partly clothed in an American military uniform and had a tattoo on one arm, bullet wounds and possible signs of torture. Residents said it was found floating in the Euphrates on Wednesday morning, several miles south of the road by the river where the attack occurred.
“Some people from our town — and I was with them — dragged the body from the river,” said Ali Abbas al-Fatlawi, 30, a resident of Musayyib. “We saw the head riddled with bullets, and shots in the left side of the abdomen. His hands were not tied, and he was not blindfolded.”
Ali Khalid, 27, a carpenter who lives near the river, said he had used his boat to take the body to shore. Residents say the police took the body to a local hospital, where American soldiers later collected it.
American military officials did not confirm the local accounts. A group of soldiers who had been searching near Musayyib this week — and who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the operations — said American troops might have cornered the gunmen, who then killed the soldier and dumped his body as they fled.
The area, they said, has one of the most entrenched insurgent populations in Iraq, with American troops regularly facing attack when they enter.
The other two missing men are Specialist Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.
In the dining hall at a United States base here, American soldiers gathered around televisions, anxiously watching cable news reports about the discovery of the body.
Pfc. Ryan McClymonds, 21, of Miami, said that if the body found in the river proved to be that of one of the missing Americans, its discovery would at least represent some progress in a frustrating search dominated by false leads. “Something is better than nothing for the families,” Private McClymonds said. He said the troops hungered for something to show for their effort.
At least two soldiers have already died during the search for their missing comrades, and several others have been wounded. Iraqi and American officials have reported that roughly 1,000 people have been detained since the search began. Of those, commanders have said, roughly 15 are believed to have direct knowledge of the ambush.
Seven of the nine American service members killed Monday and Tuesday were soldiers. Six were killed by roadside bombs and the seventh was hit by small arms fire, the military said in statements.
The other two were marines killed in combat in Anbar Province, the military said.
The military also reported on Wednesday that nine American service members had been killed in roadside bomb attacks and gun battles across Iraq on Monday and Tuesday, and a suicide bomber struck Wednesday in an area where Kurds and Arabs are battling for control, killing as many as 20 people.
The bomber walked into a coffee shop in Mandali, 60 miles east of Baghdad in Diyala Province, and blew himself up. A police official said the blast had killed 11 people and wounded 25; news agencies reported that the police said at least 20 people had been killed.
It was at least the second major attack in a week in the area and seemed to reflect rising tensions between Kurds and Arabs over a disputed section of the province that Kurdish leaders are seeking to incorporate into Iraqi Kurdistan. On May 19, gunmen wearing Iraqi Army uniforms dragged 15 Shiite Kurds into the street in a nearby village and shot them dead, Iraqi government officials said.
Diyala, a religiously mixed area that has become one of Iraq’s deadliest regions, was also the site of several gun battles and bombings on Wednesday.
Security officials in Jalawla said three Iraqi soldiers had been among six killed there in a series of clashes. A bomb in the nearby city of Buhruz killed two women, officials said. And in Muqdadiya, two other civilians and a policeman were killed in separate attacks.
In Baghdad, the authorities found 30 bodies throughout the city, an Interior Ministry official said. Bombs and mortars killed at least four people, the official said.
Gunmen in armored vehicles also opened fire near the Shorja market, leading to clashes that killed at least five people and wounded 17, according to witnesses and the police.
Mustafa Hatem, 35, said the shots had set fire to his electrical goods store, causing more than $10,000 worth of damage. The Iraqi government, he said, should consider augmenting its own government forces and allowing Iraqis to create their own private security companies.
“I was expecting good things from the government succeeding Saddam’s, but unfortunately things have gone in the opposite direction to our hopes and dreams,” he said. “I wonder, how has the security plan benefited us?”
The United States military said gunmen attacked a convoy of State Department officials in Baghdad on Wednesday, requiring help from attack helicopters and American troops in the area. No American soldiers or civilians were hurt.
May 24, 2007 By Damien Cave
MAHMUDIYA, Iraq, May 24 — The American military confirmed today that a body found in the Euphrates River on Wednesday is that of Army Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., one of three American soldiers seized in an ambush on May 12, according to a military official. Private Anzack, 20, was from Torrance, Calif.
American military officials said Iraqi police officers had recovered the body about 40 miles south of Baghdad, near Musayyib and 20 to 25 miles south of Mahmudiya, in an area known to be a safe haven for Sunni insurgents.
The officials on Wednesday declined to provide details on the location or condition of the body and cut off Internet and telephone access for soldiers at bases to limit rumors. “We will give the truth to the families first,” said Maj. Webster Wright, a spokesman for the Second Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division, which has been leading the search.
In the ambush, the attackers killed four Americans and an Iraqi soldier. For 11 days, thousands of American and Iraqi troops have searched day and night for the missing soldiers.
Iraqi police officials said the body was partly clothed in an American military uniform and had a tattoo on one arm, bullet wounds and possible signs of torture. Residents said it was found floating in the Euphrates on Wednesday morning, several miles south of the road by the river where the attack occurred.
“Some people from our town — and I was with them — dragged the body from the river,” said Ali Abbas al-Fatlawi, 30, a resident of Musayyib. “We saw the head riddled with bullets, and shots in the left side of the abdomen. His hands were not tied, and he was not blindfolded.”
Ali Khalid, 27, a carpenter who lives near the river, said he had used his boat to take the body to shore. Residents say the police took the body to a local hospital, where American soldiers later collected it.
American military officials did not confirm the local accounts. A group of soldiers who had been searching near Musayyib this week — and who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the operations — said American troops might have cornered the gunmen, who then killed the soldier and dumped his body as they fled.
The area, they said, has one of the most entrenched insurgent populations in Iraq, with American troops regularly facing attack when they enter.
The other two missing men are Specialist Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.
In the dining hall at a United States base here, American soldiers gathered around televisions, anxiously watching cable news reports about the discovery of the body.
Pfc. Ryan McClymonds, 21, of Miami, said that if the body found in the river proved to be that of one of the missing Americans, its discovery would at least represent some progress in a frustrating search dominated by false leads. “Something is better than nothing for the families,” Private McClymonds said. He said the troops hungered for something to show for their effort.
At least two soldiers have already died during the search for their missing comrades, and several others have been wounded. Iraqi and American officials have reported that roughly 1,000 people have been detained since the search began. Of those, commanders have said, roughly 15 are believed to have direct knowledge of the ambush.
Seven of the nine American service members killed Monday and Tuesday were soldiers. Six were killed by roadside bombs and the seventh was hit by small arms fire, the military said in statements.
The other two were marines killed in combat in Anbar Province, the military said.
The military also reported on Wednesday that nine American service members had been killed in roadside bomb attacks and gun battles across Iraq on Monday and Tuesday, and a suicide bomber struck Wednesday in an area where Kurds and Arabs are battling for control, killing as many as 20 people.
The bomber walked into a coffee shop in Mandali, 60 miles east of Baghdad in Diyala Province, and blew himself up. A police official said the blast had killed 11 people and wounded 25; news agencies reported that the police said at least 20 people had been killed.
It was at least the second major attack in a week in the area and seemed to reflect rising tensions between Kurds and Arabs over a disputed section of the province that Kurdish leaders are seeking to incorporate into Iraqi Kurdistan. On May 19, gunmen wearing Iraqi Army uniforms dragged 15 Shiite Kurds into the street in a nearby village and shot them dead, Iraqi government officials said.
Diyala, a religiously mixed area that has become one of Iraq’s deadliest regions, was also the site of several gun battles and bombings on Wednesday.
Security officials in Jalawla said three Iraqi soldiers had been among six killed there in a series of clashes. A bomb in the nearby city of Buhruz killed two women, officials said. And in Muqdadiya, two other civilians and a policeman were killed in separate attacks.
In Baghdad, the authorities found 30 bodies throughout the city, an Interior Ministry official said. Bombs and mortars killed at least four people, the official said.
Gunmen in armored vehicles also opened fire near the Shorja market, leading to clashes that killed at least five people and wounded 17, according to witnesses and the police.
Mustafa Hatem, 35, said the shots had set fire to his electrical goods store, causing more than $10,000 worth of damage. The Iraqi government, he said, should consider augmenting its own government forces and allowing Iraqis to create their own private security companies.
“I was expecting good things from the government succeeding Saddam’s, but unfortunately things have gone in the opposite direction to our hopes and dreams,” he said. “I wonder, how has the security plan benefited us?”
The United States military said gunmen attacked a convoy of State Department officials in Baghdad on Wednesday, requiring help from attack helicopters and American troops in the area. No American soldiers or civilians were hurt.