U.S. kills Iraqis in suspected arms deal
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U.S. soldiers with the 4th Infantry Division guard a marketplace in Tikrit in which American snipers killed two suspected gun dealers.
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TIKRIT, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. troops Friday shot and killed two Iraqis believed to be making an illegal weapons deal in a market in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit.
Lt. Col. Steve Russell of the 4th Infantry Division said his soldiers opened fire on the men because they had illegal weapons and were seen as a potential threat. He said the Iraqis had not fired on the soldiers.
Russell said that his soldiers considered it a combat situation because of the weapons and that they are permitted to shoot and kill anyone posing a potential threat under the U.S. military's rules of engagement.
Two others involved in the alleged arms deal were shot and wounded. Russell said a fifth Iraqi man, believed to be a bystander, also was wounded when a bullet ricocheted.
In recent days, U.S. forces have carried out several raids in and around the north-central town of Tikrit, netting dozens of suspected dissidents and weapons caches. U.S. officials have said the raids are intended to root out resistance fighters and Saddam loyalists as well as track down the former Iraqi president.
Friday's operation in Tikrit came hours after a soldier from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division was killed in the latest of a series of attacks on U.S. forces.
The soldier was shot dead Thursday night while on guard duty in Baghdad's Mansour district, according to U.S. Central Command. He died shortly after being transported to a nearby medical facility. The shooting is under investigation.
Two U.S. soldiers also were killed in a firefight late Wednesday in Baghdad's Rasheed neighborhood, according to Central Command. The soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were evacuated to the 407th Forward Support Battalion medical facility.
One soldier died on the scene and the other afterward from wounds received in the attack. An interpreter also was wounded and was treated at the medical facility.
In addition, three soldiers died in the last 24 hours of "nonhostile" causes, U.S. military officials said Friday. A 4th Infantry Division soldier died Friday in his sleep at a base camp in Kirkush, while a soldier with the 504th Military Police Battalion was killed earlier in a vehicle accident during a high-speed chase and a 1st Armored Division soldier died from a gunshot wound determined to be nonhostile, officials said. The deaths are under investigation.
A fourth soldier died Wednesday at a military hospital in Germany after being evacuated from Iraq, military officials said. They identified him as Spc. Zeferino E. Colunga, 20, of Bellville, Texas.
Officials said Colunga died of pneumonia, adding that it was not the same strain that has fueled an outbreak among U.S. military personnel in the Persian Gulf region.
Fifty-six U.S. troops have been killed in combat since President Bush declared an end to major fighting on May 1. Since the start of the war, 260 U.S. troops have been killed -- 171 of those in hostile fire.
