More American, Iraqi soldiers killed in Iraq
The American army announced on Sunday that one of its soldiers was killed in an attack by gunmen in Musil city to the north of Iraq on Saturday evening.
The announcement on the killing of the said soldier came just hours after the killing of two Americans working in a security company and the injuring a third in a bomb explosion while heading for al-Hella city to the south of the capital Baghdad on Saturday.
In al-Teifeh which is called the "death triangle," 40 Km to the south from Baghdad, the Iraqi army announced it found 12 bodies including three for members of the Iraqi army.
In a relevant development, the Iraqi army announced the detention of 6 persons in al-Ltefeh area on Sunday following clashes with several gunmen.
One Iraqi policeman was killed and other 3 injured on Sunday when one mortar shelling fell on an inspection point in al-Amel quarters to the east of Baghdad. Unidentified gunmen assassinated on late Saturday evening Mu'ayad Ibrahim al-Mosleh who works as a chief engineer at Baghdad's international airport. This was during the attack against his house in al-Ghazaleyah quarters.
On the other hand, the Iraqi army announced on Sunday the detention of what it called a Saudi suicide bomber that said he was on his way in a booby trapped car to an Iraqi army bases to the north of Karkouk ( 255 Km to the north of Baghdad). One policeman was killed and two were injured in Karkouk when a guard of a weapons store in the directorate of the city police dropped three mortars.
Concerning the deterioration of security conditions, Ukraine started the withdrawal of its 150 soldiers positioned in Iraq, in what the first phase of an organized withdrawal after the increased criticism inside Ukraine because of its forces participation in Iraq.
The Ukraine forces in Iraq which toll 1650 troops lost 17 soldiers in different attacks by Iraqi gunmen along the few past months.
Concerning the hostages detained in Iraq, the French prime minister Jan Pierre Ravaran stressed the "acceleration of contacts and information," concerning the French journalist Florence Obeina who has been kidnapped since January 5th in Iraq.