U.S. soldier dies of non-combat incident south of Mosul

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A U.S. soldier died of non-combat causes south of Mosul city late last month, according to a U.S. Defense Department statement on Tuesday. “Soldier Bradley Coleman, 24, died on October 29 at al-Qiyara airport, (50 km) south of Mosul, of wounds he had sustained in a non-combat incident,” according to the Pentagon release as received by IraqiNews.com. Al-Miqdad Gabriel, a media advisor for the Multi-National Force (MNF) in Iraq, told IraqiNews.com that “reason for the soldier’s death were not known yet,” adding “investigations are going on to detect the reasons for the incident”. The death brings the number of U.S. soldiers who have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003 to 4,190. Fourteen U.S. troops died in October, seven of them of non-combat causes, while 25 soldiers died in September, including nine of non-combat related causes. Other 23 soldiers were killed in August 2008, in addition to 13 troops who were announced dead in July, the month with the lowest U.S. deaths. 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. April 2004 comes second with 135, followed by May 2007 during which 126 U.S. soldiers were killed. AmR (S) 1