US searches for soldiers despite Qaeda threat

BAGHDAD – US and Iraqi troops kept up a massive search for three missing American soldiers in farmland south of Baghdad yesterday despite warnings by al Qaeda to call off the hunt or risk their safety.

The soldiers, part of a larger unit sent to intercept roadside bombs in an area known as the ‘Triangle of Death’, have been missing since an ambush on Saturday in which four other US soldiers and an Iraqi army translator were killed. “We will continue to hope for the best …we are not aware of any information that means we don’t have any reason to hope for that,” US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said.The apparently coordinated strike came as US President George W Bush deploys 30 000 more US troops due in Iraq in June in a last-ditch effort to stop a slide into all-out sectarian civil war between Shi’ites and Sunni Arabs.More than 4 000 US troops, backed by Iraqi units, helicopters and jets, are scouring through farmland south of Baghdad after the attack near Mahmudiya.It was one of the worst strikes against US troops since the 2003 invasion.Garver said 460 ‘tactical questionings’ had been conducted since the search began and 11 people had been detained.Troops were acting on more than 50 intelligence tips but no physical evidence of the soldiers’ whereabouts had been found.US and Iraqi troops are combing through lush palm groves, searching cars and going door-to-door.Residents in Yusufiya say the town and surrounding rural areas have been sealed off.Nampa-Reuters”We will continue to hope for the best …we are not aware of any information that means we don’t have any reason to hope for that,” US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Christopher Garver said.The apparently coordinated strike came as US President George W Bush deploys 30 000 more US troops due in Iraq in June in a last-ditch effort to stop a slide into all-out sectarian civil war between Shi’ites and Sunni Arabs.More than 4 000 US troops, backed by Iraqi units, helicopters and jets, are scouring through farmland south of Baghdad after the attack near Mahmudiya.It was one of the worst strikes against US troops since the 2003 invasion.Garver said 460 ‘tactical questionings’ had been conducted since the search began and 11 people had been detained.Troops were acting on more than 50 intelligence tips but no physical evidence of the soldiers’ whereabouts had been found.US and Iraqi troops are combing through lush palm groves, searching cars and going door-to-door.Residents in Yusufiya say the town and surrounding rural areas have been sealed off.Nampa-Reuters