Two US soldiers killed during a joint US-Iraq patrol in the northern city of Mosul last week were deliberately shot by an Iraqi soldier, the US and Iraqi militaries said yesterday.
The announcement marks the first time such an incident has been made public since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Meanwhile a spate of roadside bombs yesterday in Iraq's restive Diyala Province killed seven people, Iraqi officials said.
"Two US soldiers killed during a combined Iraqi Army and Coalition operation in Nineveh Province on Dec. 26 were allegedly shot by an Iraqi soldier," the US military said in a statement. "For reasons that are as yet unknown, at least one Iraqi army soldier allegedly opened fire killing Captain Rowdy Inman and Sergeant Benjamin Portell."
The incident happened when US and Iraqi soldiers were setting up a combat outpost, it said, adding that three other US soldiers and a civilian interpreter were wounded.
"The Iraqi soldier who allegedly opened fire fled the scene but was identified by other Iraqi Army personnel and was then apprehended," the statement said. "Two Iraqi Army soldiers are now being held in connection with the incident."
The commander of the Iraqi army's 2nd Division, Brigadier-General Mutaa al-Khazarji, confirmed the incident and said it occurred during a joint patrol by Iraqi and US troops in the western Hermat neighborhood of Mosul, 370km north of Baghdad.
"During clashes between the joint patrol and insurgents, an Iraqi soldier working for the terrorists opened fire on the American soldiers killing two of them," Khazarji said.
The attacker was arrested and put in an Iraqi army prison, said another senior Iraqi officer.
"Investigations are under way. We will announce the results later," Lieutenant-Colonel Hamed Zebari said.
Yesterday's attacks in Diyala came a day after a 24-hour traffic ban was enforced in major cities in the province, one of the most dangerous in Iraq, in a bid to curb a recent spate of bombings and suicide attacks.
Police Major Ahmad Hassen said six people were killed when their minibus was blown up by a roadside bomb near the town of Al-Sadiyah, 100km northeast of the provincial capital Baqubah.
"Three men, two women and a child were killed," Hassen said, adding that another two men and a woman were wounded in the blast.
In Baqubah itself, a roadside bomb killed one person and wounded another, army Major Ahmad Ibrahim said.
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
TRIP TO TAIWAN: The resumption of group tours from China should be discussed between the two agencies tasked with handling cross-strait tourism, the MAC said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday reassured China-based businesspeople that he would follow former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) cross-strait policy to facilitate healthy and orderly exchanges with Beijing and build a resilient economy. “As president, I have three missions. First, I will follow president Tsai’s ‘four commitments’ to ensure that the country continues to exist and survive,” Lai told participants at a Lunar New Year event in Taipei hosted by the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF). Lai said his second mission is to uphold the “four pillars of peace” by bolstering national defense, developing a growing and resilient economy, building partnerships with
‘INVESTMENT’: Rubio and Arevalo said they discussed the value of democracy, and Rubio thanked the president for Guatemala’s strong diplomatic relationship with Taiwan Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Guatemala City on Wednesday where they signed a deal for Guatemala to accept migrants deported from the US, while Rubio commended Guatemala for its support for Taiwan and said the US would do all it can to facilitate greater Taiwanese investment in Guatemala. Under the migrant agreement announced by Arevalo, the deportees would be returned to their home countries at US expense. It is the second deportation deal that Rubio has reached during a Central America trip that has been focused mainly on immigration. Arevalo said his