Report: Gunmen In U.S. Uniforms Killed GIs

A brazen attack on U.S. troops in southwest Iraq which left five soldiers dead was carried out by insurgents cleverly disguised to look like American officials in armored sports utility vehicles, according to a report Monday in the Washington Post.

The Post quotes the provincial governor as saying Iraqi guards at the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, 60 miles southwest of Baghdad, quickly waved through the vehicles as they approached at high speed, seeing inside people who appeared to be wearing legitimate American military uniforms and badges.

The U.S. military has not confirmed the report, but told the newspaper that its initial findings were consistent with the governor's account. The incident — one of several which claimed the lives of 27 American forces over the weekend — was still under investigation.

An aide to Karbala Gov. Akeel al-Khazaali told The Post that upon entering the secure compound, the attackers first detonated sound bombs. "They wanted to create a panic situation," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals, but with the consent of the governor.

On Sunday, al-Khazaali told AP Television News "unknown gunmen in Iraqi and foreign military uniforms" had been behind the attack.

It wasn't clear why there was a discrepancy between the two reports, or which media organization the governor spoke to first.

After the initial sound shock, the insurgents opened fire on U.S. troops with guns and hand grenades in what The Post said was a 20-minute attack — then left in the same vehicles.

The newspaper said it was unclear how many people were involved in the attack or what their motives were. The paper said Iraqi officials believed the attack was "particularly striking because of the sophistication and resources involved."

Meanwhile, two U.S. Marines were killed Sunday in separate attacks in the Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, the military said Monday.

Twenty-five U.S. troops were killed Saturday in the third-deadliest day since the war started in March 2003 — eclipsed only by the one-day toll 37 U.S. fatalities on Jan. 26, 2005, and 28 on the third day of the U.S. invasion.

The heaviest tolls on Saturday came from a Black Hawk helicopter crash in which 12 U.S. soldiers were killed northeast of Baghdad and the attack in Karbala.

The U.S. military has not ruled out hostile fire in the helicopter crash. Col. David Sutherland, the commander of U.S. forces in the strife ridden Iraqi province of Diyala, said the crash was still under investigation and his troops were participating in recovery efforts.