U.S. army says 2 soldiers killed, 3 wounded near Mosul

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: Two U.S. soldiers were killed and three others wounded when they came under “small arms fire attack” in a front combat post south of Mosul city on Saturday, according to a U.S. army statement. “According to initial reports, an individual dressed in an Iraqi Army uniform fired on the Coalition forces and was killed in the incident,” read the statement as received by IraqiNews.com news agency. Earlier on Saturday, an official security source in Ninewa said that two U.S. soldiers were killed by an Iraqi soldier’s fire inside one of the Iraqi army’s camps to the south of Mosul. “An Iraqi soldier opened fire on U.S. army personnel who were inside an Iraqi military camp in Hammam al-Aleel district, south of Mosul, killing two of them instantly,” the source, who preferred not to be named, told IraqiNews.com news agency. The deaths bring to 4,283 the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003. Eighteen soldiers were killed in April 2009. A total of 486 U.S. troops were killed in 2003, while 849 died in 2004. Other 846 troops were killed in 2005, and 822 soldiers in 2006. The year 2007 remains the year that saw the highest U.S. death toll with 904. November 2004, which witnessed fierce battles between U.S. forces and armed groups in Falluja city, Anbar province, remains the month that saw the highest U.S. death toll with 137. AmR (S) 1