2 U.S. soldiers killed, 4 wounded while conferring with local Iraqi authorities

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http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD91G0BUG0

Gunman in Iraq kills 2 American soldiers, wounds 4
By ROBERT H. REID – 5 hours ago

BAGHDAD (AP) — A disgruntled local official opened fire Monday on U.S. soldiers attending a municipal council meeting southeast of Baghdad, killing two of them and wounding four other Americans, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.

The assailant died in a hail of gunfire after the attack, which occurred in the town of Madain, also known as Salman Pak, about 15 miles south of Baghdad in an area with a history of Sunni-Shiite tension.

U.S. officials confirmed two American soldiers died and that four Americans, including a civilian interpreter, were wounded.

Iraqi police and witnesses said the attack took place in front of the Madain municipal building where the Americans had come to confer with local authorities.

[babylonsister]

1. McClatchy: U.S.-allied Iraqi politician kills 2 U.S. troops, wounds 4

Different takes on what happened, but I wonder if the Iraqis might be suffering from PTSD, or worse. Of course they are.


U.S.-allied Iraqi politician kills 2 U.S. troops, wounds 4

By Mohammed al Dulaimy and Hannah Allam | McClatchy Newspapers



MADAIN, Iraq — A U.S.-allied Iraqi council member sprayed American troops with gunfire Monday, killing two soldiers and wounding three and an interpreter, Iraqi authorities and witnesses said. The attack occurred minutes after they emerged from a weekly joint meeting on reconstruction in this volatile town southeast of Baghdad.

Raed Mahmoud Ajil, a former high school principal in his mid-40s, was known as a respected city council member and devoted educator who'd recently returned to Iraq after completing his master's degree in India, stunned colleagues said. U.S. troops shot and killed him at the scene.

Ajil's colleagues said they could think of no motive for the deadly rampage, which is thought to be the first incident of a U.S.-allied Iraqi politician carrying out such an attack. Ajil comes from a distinguished Sunni Muslim family. His brother is security chief for the Iraqi Ministry of Justice and a cousin is a high-ranking judge, relatives said.

Ajil's family said that he'd suffered from bouts of depression and sporadic epileptic seizures, which he masked in his role as a public servant. Relatives knew him to be friendly to U.S. troops and said he had no qualms about working alongside them, even though many in this mixed Sunni-Shiite Muslim town view American forces as occupiers.

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http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/41895.html