Another day, another ambush

Several Soldiers Hurt When U.S. Convoy Is Ambushed

By Khaled Yacoub Oweis
Reuters
Sunday, June 15, 2003; 2:30 PM

NEAR BALAD, Iraq, June 15 - Guerrillas ambushed a U.S. convoy in the hostile region north of Baghdad on Sunday, wounding several soldiers, as a new U.S. mission was launched to hunt for Saddam Hussein loyalists blamed for recent attacks.

A crippled U.S. truck smouldered on the highway south of the restive town of Balad after the ambush, its tires and canopy ablaze. Apache helicopters buzzed overhead, searching for the attackers. Tanks and armored vehicles surrounded the truck. Troops trained their guns at the fields around the road.

Soldiers said several casualties had been evacuated.

They said the convoy had been travelling from Baghdad to Balad, about 90 km (60 miles) to the north. It was attacked about 20 km south of Balad.

The ambush came as the U.S. military launched a new mission, Operation Desert Scorpion, to root out Saddam Hussein loyalists after a spate of attacks that have killed about 40 U.S. soldiers since major combat was declared over on May 1.

Steve Gilliard

Posted June 15, 2003 02:13 PM | Comments (19)