Posted on 06/09/2003 1:30:41 PM PDT by yankeedame
Soldier killed in fake illness ambush
From correspondents in Baghdad
10jun03
IRAQIS pretending to need urgent medical aid gunned down a US soldier today in a grim reminder of the anarchy still plaguing the occupied land.
The gunmen pulled up to a checkpoint in Al-Qaim, by the Syrian border, and faked a medical emergency.
"An undetermined number of assailants pulled up to the checkpoint in a vehicle and requested help for a 'sick' person in the car," US Central Command (Centcom) said.
"Two people armed with pistols then exited the vehicle and shot dead the soldier."
In another incident, US troops detained two Iraqis after coming under fire during a patrol operation in the flashpoint town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, Centcom said.
Residents said that during the patrols, US troops shot dead an Iraqi gunshop owner after mistaking him for an armed assailant as he repaired a Kalashnikov outside his store. That claim was not mentioned by Centcom.
Meanwhile, efforts to stabilise the country continued, with experts saying oil exports could resume next week, unleashing vital revenue.
The acting head of the oil ministry, Thamir Ghadhban, said he hoped that by the end of the month Iraq would be exporting some two-thirds of a total oil output that would reach 1.5 million barrels per day.
"We are processing contracts now with various interested parties and we hope that during the third week of this month the first shipment will be made available to the international market," he said.
The US-appointed administrator warned that Iraq's output would not likely reach its pre-war levels for at least a year because of continued looting of the infrastructure and the wartime collapse of the power grid.
Ghadhban said the oil ministry has already recruited 3000 security guards to protect facilities and expected to take on more.
Chris
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