One American Soldier Killed and Another Wounded in Shootings Today in Baghdad - 2003-06-18

In shootings that occurred today in Baghdad, one American soldier was killed and another was wounded. Reports indicate that American soldiers were guarding a gas station when two pedestrians approached them and opened fire. Such attacks have resulted in the deaths of over forty American soldiers since the end of the main Iraq war on May 1. Previously, U.S. forces shot two Iraqi protesters because the demonstrators, mostly former Iraqi soldiers who are currently unemployed, began throwing stones at American soldiers. The U.S. Central Command states that after one of the protesters drew a weapon and began shooting, American soldiers were forced to return fire in self-defense. An American military official reported that the fourth person on the coalition's most wanted list has been captured. He is Ubaid Hamid Mahmoud, personal secretary to Saddam Hussein, as well as his security advisor and chief bodyguard. Thus, those at the top of the wanted list include Saddam Hussein himself, followed by his two sons, Qusay and Uday. An American general stated that U.S. forces discovered large amounts of cash during a raid on two rural houses near Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. The discovered money is reported to be over eight and a half million dollars in American bills and some Iraqi dinars. According to the American general, this money is apparently intended as rewards for those who attack American soldiers. In these raids, about fifty individuals linked to Saddam Hussein's security forces were also arrested.