At Least Two US Soldiers Killed in Prison Attack

21/09/2003| IslamWeb

Two U.S. soldiers were killed and 13 were wounded in a mortar attack on a U.S.-run prison west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, a military spokeswoman said on Sunday. The death of the troops, from the 800th Military Police Brigade, brings to 78 the number of U.S. soldiers killed by hostile fire since major combat in Iraq was officially declared over on May 1 following the war that ousted Saddam Hussein. Two mortar rounds struck the prison compound at 9:54 p.m. on Saturday evening, the spokeswoman said. "There were two soldiers killed and 13 wounded," she said. "No detainees were injured." Attackers also fired mortar rounds at the prison on August 17, killing six Iraqis and wounding 59. Abu Ghraib was one of the largest and most notorious prisons in Iraq during Saddam's rule. U.S. forces now hold both common criminals and Iraqis suspected of guerrilla attacks against them at the jail. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Iraqi soldiers hold U.S. Army soldier, the winner of a boxing competition at a U.S. base in Mosul, 400 kms north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2003. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)