U.S. Soldiers Killed While Training Iraqis

Incident heightens concern about insurgent infiltration in Iraqi security forces

In this undated photo provided by the U.S. Army, a U.S. military wanted poster shows two Iraqi police officers suspected in a Feb. 24, 2009 shooting that killed a U.S. soldier and an Iraqi interpreter and wounded five others in Mosul, Iraq. The attack was an alarming inside job that raised concerns about the level of suspected insurgent infiltration in Iraq’s security forces. (Photo credit: U.S. Army / AP)

By Lara Jakes

Jan. 15, 2011

BAGHDAD — Two U.S. troops were killed Saturday by an Iraqi soldier who apparently smuggled real bullets into a training exercise and opened fire, raising fresh concerns about insurgents worming into the nation’s security forces as the Americans prepare to leave by the year’s end.

A U.S. military official said the shooter was immediately killed by American soldiers who were running the morning drill at a training center on a U.S. base in the northern city of Mosul. The U.S. official said the exercise was not meant to involve live ammunition, and an Iraqi army officer said the shooting appeared to have been planned. …

A U.S. statement confirmed that two soldiers were killed and a third was wounded by small-arms fire by what the military described as “an individual wearing an Iraqi army uniform.” …

The Americans were not identified pending notification of next of kin, and the statement provided few other details. The U.S. troops were from the 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based at Ft. Hood, Texas.

Additionally, another American soldier was killed Saturday during an unrelated military operation in central Iraq, making it one of the deadliest days for U.S. forces in the country in months. …

Saturday’s drill was designed to show security forces how to launch attacks and capture suspects, said an Iraqi military official, and it aimed to showcase U.S. training efforts before a Monday visit by top U.S. and Iraqi generals. …

Attacks by Iraqi soldiers and police against Americans are not unprecedented, especially in Mosul, a former al-Qaida haven and Iraq’s third-largest city, located 225 miles northwest of Baghdad.

… [On May 2, 2009], two U.S. soldiers were killed and three were wounded [link added] in Mosul by a gunman wearing an Iraqi army uniform. Three months earlier [Feb. 24, 2009], two Iraqi policemen opened fire on U.S. soldiers [link added] and Iraqi police who were lunching at a Mosul police station. The attack killed a U.S. soldier and his interpreter.

Additionally, two U.S. soldiers were killed and six wounded [link added] Nov. 12, 2008, when an Iraqi trooper opened fire on them in an Iraqi outpost in Mosul. The Iraqi was killed.

And just one week after the U.S. military triumphantly announced it had withdrawn all but 50,000 troops to mark the end of the U.S. combat mission in Iraq [on Sept. 7, 2010], two American troops were killed by an Iraqi soldier [link added] during a visit to an Iraqi army base near Kirkuk, also in northern Iraq. The American soldiers were at the base to protect an Iraqi military commander. …

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Related reports on this site

Video

Two U.S. troops killed in Iraq (NBC Nightly News, Sept. 7, 2010) — A man dressed as an Iraqi soldier fired on American troops on a training visit to an Iraqi military base Tuesday, killing at least two U.S. soldiers and injuring at least nine others. NBC’s Brian Williams reports. (00:22)

Afghan Policeman Kills U.S. Troops (Dec. 1, 2010)

Reported Fragging in Iraq (Sept. 27, 2010)

Iraqi Soldier Guns Down U.S. Troops (Sept. 8, 2010)

Afghan Soldier Kills U.S. Troop (Dec. 29, 2009)

GI Opens Fire on U.S. Troops in Iraq (May 12, 2009)

Iraq Insurgent Infiltration (May 2, 2009)

Iraqi Policemen Kill U.S. Soldier (Feb. 24, 2009)

Iraqi Soldier Kills U.S. Troops (Nov. 13, 2008)

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: One Year Ago — January 15, 2010

Reprieve for Haitian Illegals

Gerald Herbert / AP

One year ago today, I reported that the Obama administration would allow Haitians who were in the United States illegally prior to the January 12, 2010 Haiti earthquake to remain in the country for 18 months under temporary protected status (TPS). Some critics cautioned, however, that TPS has a track record of devolving into de facto “backdoor amnesty” for illegal aliens.

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FROM THE ARCHIVES: Two Years Ago — January 15, 2009

War on Terror ‘Mistaken’

Video

New bin Laden tape taunts Bush (MSNBC, Jan. 14, 2009) — A new tape reportedly from Osama bin Laden calls for a holy war against Israel, and taunts President Bush in his last days in office. NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski reports. (02:40)

Two years ago today, on Jan. 15, 2009, I reported that British foreign secretary David Miliband said the phrase “war on terror” — though capturing the urgency of the situation immediately following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — is ultimately “misleading and mistaken,” because it gives the impression of a unified, transnational enemy embodied in the figure of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida.