Baghdad, Aug 04: An Iraqi farmer was killed and scores of others detained as US troops searched Iraq for deposed President Saddam Hussein, whose capture or elimination Washington sees as key to ending guerrilla warfare against US troops. A 75-year-old farmer was shot dead and his son wounded yesterday after being turned back at a coalition checkpoint west of Fallujah, 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, said the farmer's family.
As they prepared to turn around, they came under fire from the checkpoint. The father died on the spot while his son was hit in the jaw and left hand.
The US Army had no immediate comment on the incident. US soldiers were hit in an ambush outside of Baquba, 60 kms north of Baghdad yesterday afternoon.
Two soldiers were wounded when a rocket-propelled grenade smashed into a Humvee all-terrain vehicle, witnesses said, adding that US troops had cordoned off the motorway.
Despite the violence, US soldiers arrested 202 individuals, including two middle-ranking officials of the ousted Ba’ath Party, in the last 24 hours, a military spokesman said in Baghdad. Bureau Report