A U.S. soldier was killed Monday in a drive-by shooting in Mosul after he and other troops directed a large queue of traffic at a petrol station in this Iraqi northern city. Witnesses said they saw a gunman opening fire on the soldiers with an automatic rifle from the sunroof of a passing black BMW at a round 6:30 am (0330 GMT) Monday, AFP reported.
This latest attack came as a U.S. commander warned of a surge in attempts to kill American forces before a July 1 deadline to transfer authority to Iraqis, and cautioned that strikes might not end even if troops kill or capture Saddam Hussein.
"We expect to see an increase in violence as we move forward toward sovereignty at the end of June," Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said. "The killing or capturing of Saddam Hussein will have an impact on the level of violence, but it will not end it," he said. "It won't be the end-all solution."
Meanwhile, near Kirkuk, also in the north, Iraqi police on Monday said they discovered a cache of 100 mortar rounds and other ammunition in a garbage dump after a tip from trash collectors. American troops later arrived and took away the weapons.
Also Monday, Iraq's Governing Council chose a dentist to replace Aquila al-Hashimi, a Shiite Muslim member of the 25-seat group who was assassinated in September, a council statement said.
Salama al-Khufaji, a Shiite professor of dentistry at Baghdad University, replaced al-Hashimi, who was mortally wounded Sept. 20. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
