- Title: IRAQ: U.S. SOLDIER KILLED IN DRIVE-BY SHOOTING IN NORTHERN CITY OF MOSUL
- Date: 8th December 2003
- Summary: (EU) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV: SPOKESPERSON FOR U.S. ARMY IN IRAQ, BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK KIMMITT AND DAN SENOR, SPOKESMAN FOR U.S. CIVIL ADMINISTRATOR PAUL BREMER, ENTERING CONFERENCE HALL 0.08 2. SOUNDBITE (English) SPOKESPERSON FOR US ARMY IN IRAQ, BRIGADIER GENERAL MARK KIMMITT, SAYING: "Today four Iraqi males travelling in vehicles stopped approximately fifty metres from a gas station in Mosul and opened fire on coalition soldiers guarding the station. One coalition soldier died of gunshot wounds in that attack." 0.23 3. CLOSE OF NOTES BEEN TAKEN BY A JOURNALIST 0.26 4. SOUNDBITE (English) KIMMITT SAYING: "If you take a look overall in Baghdad, the situation is improving by many measures, we have more police on the ground, we certainly have not had the number of attacks in Baghdad of late that we have seen. We see prosperity returning to parts of Baghdad." 0.42 5. WIDE OF KIMMITT AND SENOR IN THE CONFERENCE HALL 0.48 (W5) MOSUL, IRAQ (DECEMBER 8, 2003) (REUTERS) 6. WIDE OF ROAD IN MOSUL WITH HUMVEE 0.54 7. MV: U.S. SOLDIER STANDING NEXT TO HUMVEE 0.59 8. SOLDIER WITH GUN 1.04 9. SLV: CHILDREN LOOKING FROM ROOF 1.07 10. U.S. TROOPS CHECKING MEN WALKING ON ROAD 1.13 11. MV/SV: CAR BEING SEARCHED (2 SHOTS) 1.23 12. LV: HELICOPTER FLYING OVER ROOFTOP 1.29 13. WIDE OF HUMVEE ON ROAD 1.34 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 23rd December 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD AND MOSUL, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVA6Z34VE0RBMYJ7M2Q6GC4KJ1Q1
- Story Text: A U.S. soldier has been killed in a drive-by
shooting in the northern Iraq city of Mosul.
A U.S. soldier and a policeman were killed in
separate attacks in Iraq on Monday (December 8) as the
continuing violence prompted dozens of South Korean
contractors to pull out of the country and Bangladesh to
close its embassy.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, spokesman for the U.S.
Army in Iraq, said the soldier from the 101st Airborne
Division was killed in a drive-by shooting in the northern
city of Mosul, which has seen an upsurge in attacks on
American troops.
"Today four Iraqi males travelling in vehicles stopped
approximately 50 metres from a gas station in Mosul and
opened fire on coalition soldiers guarding the station.
One coalition soldier died of gunshot wounds in that
attack," Kimmitt told a news conference.
On Sunday (December 7), a roadside bomb blast in Mosul
killed one U.S. soldier and wounded two. Last month
guerrillas mortared the headquarters of the 101st Airborne,
killing one soldier.
In Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad, a police
bomb disposal expert was killed when a tank round planted
on a busy street was detonated by remote control, a U.S.
military commander in the city said.
Iraqi police and others seen to be working or
cooperating with U.S. and allied authorities are
increasingly the target of attacks by loyalists to the
former regime. Last month 17 policemen were killed in twin
bomb blasts in and near Baquba.
Kimmitt told reporters the situation in Baghdad "is
improving by many measures, we have more police on the
ground, we certainly have not had the number of attacks in
Baghdad of late that we have seen."
While the U.S. military says the overall number of
attacks has declined following a recent offensive against
guerrillas, November was still the deadliest month for U.S.
troops since the war to overthrow Saddam Hussein was
launched on March 20.
Security has been tightened in Mosul. U.S. forces in
the city set up roadblocks and searched vehicles on Monday
hoping to deter further attacks.
Mosul, a predominantly Sunni Muslim city, has seen a
surge in blasts, shootings and killings in recent weeks,
including a mortar bombardment on the headquarters of the
101st Airborne Division last month which killed one soldier.
Monday's shooting brought to 308 the number if U.S.
soldiers killed in action in Iraq since they invaded in
March, including 193 killed since major combat was declared
over on May 1.
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