realkaps
11-02-2003, 05:36 AM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- At least three U.S. soldiers are dead after a series of attacks on coalition forces in Iraq Sunday, including the downing of a Chinook helicopter.
At least two soldiers were killed and about 20 others injured when the U.S. military helicopter was shot down near Fallujah at about 8 a.m. local time.
Between 32 and 35 people were traveling on the Chinook, which was one of two flying to the Baghdad International Airport from a U.S. base camp. The men were "R and R" mission -- a short break from war.
It is not clear how serious the injuries are. Details on the weapon used to down the helicopter are not yet available.
CNN's Jane Arraf, who is at the scene, about 60 kilometers west of Baghdad, said witnesses saw a shoulder-type missile being launched and flares going off.
"They (coalition forces) are controlling traffic, with guns at the ready. They are saying it is still a volatile area," she said.
"The area is in the middle of farmland, and it would be extremely easy for somebody to hide here and launch a missile, which is what witnesses are saying."
Earlier, another U.S. serviceman was killed, when his vehicle was struck by an explosive devise in Baghdad at about midnight.
A second convoy was attacked in Fallujah, about an hour before the Chinook incident, but it is not clear whether any injuries were sustained.
CNN's Matthew Chance said crowds of Iraqis gathered quickly in the "flashpoint" city chanting anti-U.S. slogans.
It is believed the U.S. soldiers in the vehicle were taken away by other members of the convoy.
The attacks came as coalition forces were on alert for a threatened "day of resistance," following a warning from the U.S. Consulate Office in Baghdad.
The consulate said U.S. military patrols, hotels, markets, and non-governmental organizations could be among the sites attacked.
Chance said it was "difficult to pull the incidents together to say with any certainty" whether the incidents were connected and part of the so-called "day of resistance."
"The areas of Fallujah and Baghdad have been the venues for similar attacks, so it is difficult, impossible, to say whether we are seeing greater, more intense, action," he added.
On Saturday, two U.S. soldiers were killed in an explosion near the northern city of Mosul. The soldiers, from the 101st Airborne Division, were killed when their convoy struck an improvised explosive device. Two other soldiers were injured.
On Friday clashes between U.S. troops and Iraqi crowds in Baghdad left 14 Iraqis dead, according to a U.S. military official.
The violence began when two grenades were thrown at a U.S. patrol around the Abu Ghraib market. The American troops returned fire and the Iraqis began firing small arms and throwing rocks, a military official said.
In a bid to boost security and stability, U.S. administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer said the United States is stepping up efforts to hand over more responsibility to Iraqis themselves.
Coalition forces will speed up the training of Iraqi police and military, he said, and the size of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps will be doubled by March.
"We will have over 200,000 Iraqis involved in their own security forces by September next year," Bremer added.
Despite the attacks, the U.S.-led coalition had been able to reopen justice courts, build jails and recruit 50,000 Iraqi police officers.
A coalition military official said 33 attempted attacks are made against U.S. troops every day. Coalition officials blame forces loyal to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, terrorist groups and other insurgents for the attacks.
Bremer said officials believe Saddam is alive and in Iraq, though there is "no indication" he is behind the attacks.
But he added: "His capture, or killing him, is one of the top priorities."
Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, said opponents of the U.S.-led occupation forces have been altering their tactics -- shifting from targeting coalition forces to targeting other international and institutions that they see as "key to the development of the country."
On Monday, four suicide bombings on three police stations and the headquarters of the International Red Cross left more than 30 people dead.
At least two soldiers were killed and about 20 others injured when the U.S. military helicopter was shot down near Fallujah at about 8 a.m. local time.
Between 32 and 35 people were traveling on the Chinook, which was one of two flying to the Baghdad International Airport from a U.S. base camp. The men were "R and R" mission -- a short break from war.
It is not clear how serious the injuries are. Details on the weapon used to down the helicopter are not yet available.
CNN's Jane Arraf, who is at the scene, about 60 kilometers west of Baghdad, said witnesses saw a shoulder-type missile being launched and flares going off.
"They (coalition forces) are controlling traffic, with guns at the ready. They are saying it is still a volatile area," she said.
"The area is in the middle of farmland, and it would be extremely easy for somebody to hide here and launch a missile, which is what witnesses are saying."
Earlier, another U.S. serviceman was killed, when his vehicle was struck by an explosive devise in Baghdad at about midnight.
A second convoy was attacked in Fallujah, about an hour before the Chinook incident, but it is not clear whether any injuries were sustained.
CNN's Matthew Chance said crowds of Iraqis gathered quickly in the "flashpoint" city chanting anti-U.S. slogans.
It is believed the U.S. soldiers in the vehicle were taken away by other members of the convoy.
The attacks came as coalition forces were on alert for a threatened "day of resistance," following a warning from the U.S. Consulate Office in Baghdad.
The consulate said U.S. military patrols, hotels, markets, and non-governmental organizations could be among the sites attacked.
Chance said it was "difficult to pull the incidents together to say with any certainty" whether the incidents were connected and part of the so-called "day of resistance."
"The areas of Fallujah and Baghdad have been the venues for similar attacks, so it is difficult, impossible, to say whether we are seeing greater, more intense, action," he added.
On Saturday, two U.S. soldiers were killed in an explosion near the northern city of Mosul. The soldiers, from the 101st Airborne Division, were killed when their convoy struck an improvised explosive device. Two other soldiers were injured.
On Friday clashes between U.S. troops and Iraqi crowds in Baghdad left 14 Iraqis dead, according to a U.S. military official.
The violence began when two grenades were thrown at a U.S. patrol around the Abu Ghraib market. The American troops returned fire and the Iraqis began firing small arms and throwing rocks, a military official said.
In a bid to boost security and stability, U.S. administrator for Iraq Paul Bremer said the United States is stepping up efforts to hand over more responsibility to Iraqis themselves.
Coalition forces will speed up the training of Iraqi police and military, he said, and the size of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps will be doubled by March.
"We will have over 200,000 Iraqis involved in their own security forces by September next year," Bremer added.
Despite the attacks, the U.S.-led coalition had been able to reopen justice courts, build jails and recruit 50,000 Iraqi police officers.
A coalition military official said 33 attempted attacks are made against U.S. troops every day. Coalition officials blame forces loyal to ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, terrorist groups and other insurgents for the attacks.
Bremer said officials believe Saddam is alive and in Iraq, though there is "no indication" he is behind the attacks.
But he added: "His capture, or killing him, is one of the top priorities."
Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, commander of U.S. ground forces in Iraq, said opponents of the U.S.-led occupation forces have been altering their tactics -- shifting from targeting coalition forces to targeting other international and institutions that they see as "key to the development of the country."
On Monday, four suicide bombings on three police stations and the headquarters of the International Red Cross left more than 30 people dead.