2 U.S. troops, 12 suspected insurgents killed in Iraq

"Iraq"

08/31/2007

The Iraqis die in a bomb drop and artillery shelling in Anbar province. Northern Iraq grapples with a cholera outbreak.


By Tina Susman,
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 31, 2007


BAGHDAD -- U.S. military officials today announced the deaths of a Marine and a soldier in western Anbar province, where troops also were said to have killed 12 suspected insurgents in an aerial and artillery bombardment.

In northern Iraq, health officials warned of a cholera outbreak that has sickened scores of people and killed up to 10 in Kirkuk and Sulaymaniya. Claire Hajaj, a UNICEF spokeswoman, said hospitals in the region were overwhelmed and had stopped counting patients who arrived with cholera-like illnesses such as severe diarrhea.

Several cases of the disease, which is spread through contaminated water, were reported in June in southern Iraq. The northern outbreak appears far worse, in part because of the large number of Iraqis who have fled to the area to escape sectarian violence elsewhere. Northern Iraq has not suffered as much violence as Baghdad and surrounding areas, making it a destination for thousands.

Dr. Sabbah Amin, director of the Kirkuk Health Department, announced measures to stop the disease's spread, including closing public swimming pools, banning street vendors who sell food and drinks, and investigating ice and soft drink factories.

Also today, gunmen shot to death a barber in his Kirkuk shop. It was the ninth slaying of a barber in the city this year by Islamic militants who oppose Western haircuts and grooming styles.

South of Baghdad, in Kut, a translator working for U.S. military forces was killed. More than 200 military translators have been murdered by insurgents who oppose the U.S. presence.

The U.S. deaths occurred Aug. 29, the same day as the attack on the alleged insurgents, but the military did not say if they were connected. At least 3,737 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq since the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to the independent monitoring site http://www.icasualties.org.

A statement said that American forces spotted men retrieving objects from a weedy area known to be used for hiding weapons, and loading them into the back of two pickup trucks. When a third truck approached with men in masks carrying weapons, jet fighters were called in to drop two bombs, which destroyed two of the trucks. Marines followed with artillery fire, and 12 suspected insurgents were found dead at the scene afterward, the military said.