BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 15, 2008
Friendly Fire Eyed In 3 U.S. Troop Deaths
Military Investigating Whether 3 Soldiers In Iraq Were Gunned Down By U.S. Troops
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This undated photo provided by the U.S. Army shows Pfc. Phillip Pannier, 20, of Washburn, Ill. Pannier died on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008, from injuries suffered in fighting north of Baghdad, Iraq. Military officials said the incident is being investigated to determine whether Pannier and two other soldiers - Pfc. Ivan E. Merlo and Sgt. David J. Hart - were killed by shots from the enemy or by U.S. troops. (AP Photo/U.S. Army)
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In this photo released by the Iraqi Government, Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki, right, and the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, talk during their meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008. (AP Photo/Iraqi Government)
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President George W. Bush walks down the stairs with Gen. David H. Petraeus, Commander of the Mutli-National Force, following their meeting Saturday, Jan. 12, 2008 in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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The three 101st Airborne Division soldiers were part of an Army company that was attacked by as many as 15 insurgents on Jan. 8 after the soldiers discovered several large caches of explosives.
Military officials said the incident is being investigated to determine whether the soldiers were killed by shots from the enemy or by U.S. troops, including members of their unit and aircraft called in for backup later in the battle.
A detailed account of the incident was described by several officials to The Associated Press. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is not complete.
The three soldiers were part of Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. They were searching buildings southwest of Samarra early that Tuesday morning when they found more than 1,000 pounds of homemade explosives, two 55-gallon barrels rigged to blow up, a roadside bomb, and bullets and bomb-making materials.
Soon afterward they found that a second building was also filled with explosives, guns, ammunition and a disassembled suicide vest.
According to reports, the soldiers continued searching the area, and later discovered four vehicles loaded with explosives. And at that point they determined that there were at least two insurgents hiding nearby.
When they moved in on the insurgents, reports said the soldiers discovered an extensive tunnel and trench network that was being defended by 10 to 15 of the enemy, who attacked the company with mortars, grenades and guns.
The two sides fought for about three hours, escalating to a massive battle with U.S. aircraft blasting the insurgents with rockets, several 500-pound bombs and .50-caliber guns.
At some point during the fight, soldiers discovered that two members of their unit - Pfc. Ivan E. Merlo, 19, of San Marcos, Calif., and Pfc. Phillip J. Pannier, 20, of Washburn, Ill., had been killed. Three others were injured, and one of them - Sgt. David J. Hart, 22, of Lake View Terrace, Calif. - died later.
The soldiers are based at Fort Campbell, Ky.
The names of the injured soldiers have not been - and are not routinely - released. It is not clear how many enemy insurgents were killed.
In other developments:
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- What movie "No end in sight"
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- How many US deaths in Iraq were caused by friendly fire? Is the military simply there to ''take out it''s trash''?
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- ilikecats1,,,, Is America worth the sacrifice to get another extreme right winger on the Supreme Court ???
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- ilikecats1,,,, Just what has Bush done but, kill Americans, drive us into recession, cost us our homes, destroy our National Security, make America much less safe, destablize the Globe & escellate terrorism ???
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- ilikecats1,,,, No, please tell me about it.
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- ilikecats1,,,,, You couldn''t take care of your own cats ----- Bush & company are the biggest Failures in American History & the most damaging to any democracy
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- ilikecats1,,,, Maybe you can explain how your so-called representive governement can allow Bush to fail on every issue from domestic to wars, & lie on a daily basis ?????
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- ilikecats1,,, Foreign Lobbies & Corporations have the representation in this country NOT the people
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- ilikecats1,,,, If we lived in an ideal world with an ideal democracy whe would have representive republic --- But that''s far from reality -- Aithiests & others don''t have representation, representation you get in courts is based on your politics & the price of your lawer & we have continued disinfranchisment of our voters & the lower to the upper middle class.
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Ex-NBA ref Tim Donaghy 
