New Raids in Tikrit as Two US Soldiers Die North of Baghdad

30/10/2003| IslamWeb

US troops carried out pre-dawn raids Thursday in Tikrit and detained more than a dozen suspects, the U.S. military said. U.S. forces had "reliable intelligence" that the suspects were involved in establishing a "new terrorist network in Tikrit and planning terrorist attacks against coalition forces," Lt. Col. Steve Russell told The Associated Press after the operation. U.S. troops detained 14 suspects, including four identified as "targeted individuals," said Russell. He added the other 10 men were taken into custody for questioning because they were closely related to the four and could provide "additional information." "We continue to work against these cells, to disrupt, capture or kill them," Russell said. **Saddam Deputy Coordinating Attacks against American Forces*** Meanwhile, a senior defense official said Wednesday that a prominent member of Saddam's ousted regime is believed to be helping coordinate attacks on American forces. Two captured members of Ansar al-Islam have said Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri is helping to coordinate their attacks, the official said, according to The AP. Al-Douri is No. 6 on the most-wanted list of 55 Iraqis and was vice chairman of Iraq's Revolutionary Command Council. The defense official who discussed the al-Douri link said he did not know if the al-Douri-Ansar alliance was responsible for the Baghdad bombings. He said military officials don't know to what extent al-Douri was coordinating attacks with Ansar. **Two US Soldiers Killed near Balad*** Two U.S. soldiers, from the 4th Infantry Division, were killed and one was wounded when their tank was hit by an explosive north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said Wednesday. The three crew members of the Abrams tank were on their way to a guard post when the undetermined explosive struck them Tuesday night near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, according to the division spokeswoman, Maj. Jossyln Aberle. The wounded soldier was evacuated to a U.S. military hospital in Germany, she said. It was believed to be the first M1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed since the end of major combat May 1. Following this attack, updated Defense Department figures show 115 U.S. soldiers have been killed since May 1 when President George W. Bush declared an end to major fighting. That compares with 114 killed in the active combat phase, which started on March 20. Meanwhile, seven Ukrainian soldiers were injured when Iraqi resistance fighters attacked their patrol in southern Iraq, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Wednesday. Two armored personnel carriers with 17 Ukrainian troops were ambushed Tuesday night near As Suwayrah, northwest of their base at Kut in southern Iraq, said Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Kostiantyn Khivrenko, according to The AP. Three mines exploded under the vehicles, and Iraqi fighters then opened fire. Elsewhere, a US military post in the northern city of Kirkuk was hit by five Katyusha rockets, Iraqi police reported Wednesday. "A US position located behind the technical college at the entrance of Kirkuk was hit by five Katyusha rockets," said Lieutenant Ammar Hassan al-Abbadi, according to the AFP. A school in Kirkuk was also hit by a mortar and a bomb exploded in front of a dry cleaners used by the US forces, Abbadi added. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Three soldiers from the US Army's 4th ID stand next to stretchers outside a battalion aid station moments after a firefight outside the main US base in the northeastern Iraqi town of Tikrit. (AFP/Roberto Schmidt)