Military: 2 US troops killed in Iraq ( 2003-08-22 16:10) (Agencies) Two U.S. soldiers were killed in Iraq, the U.S.
military said Friday, bringing the number of American combat deaths to 179, 32
more than were killed during the first Gulf war.
One soldier was killed in action on Thursday near the Iraqi town of
al Hilla, 34 miles south of Baghdad in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force operating
area, said Spc. Margo Doers.
The military also said another U.S. soldier was
killed and six were wounded in a fire at a small arms range in Baghdad. A
spokesman had no information on the cause of the blaze.
The military said the soldier in the Marines' zone had been killed on
Thursday but had no more information. The Marines are responsible for a mainly
Shi'ite Muslim area south of the capital which includes the holy cities of Najaf
and Kerbala.
Sixty-five U.S. soldiers have been killed since President Bush declared
an end to formal combat on May 1.
U.S. officers say loyalists of ousted President Saddam Hussein and some
foreign Muslim militants are behind the wave of attacks on occupying troops in
Iraq.
The soldier killed in the fire was pronounced dead late on Thursday afternoon
from burns and smoke inhalation, a military spokesman said. He was from the
army's 1st Armored Division.
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