US soldier killed in western Iraq

[maddezmom]

Source: AFP

BAGHDAD (AFP) - A US soldier has been killed on patrol in the western Iraqi province of Anbar, the military said on Wednesday, without providing details on the circumstances.

The death on Tuesday raised the number of US troops killed in Iraq to 4,073 since the invasion of the country in March 2003, according to an AFP tally based on independent website www.icasualties.org.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080507/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestustoll_080507111317

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Welcome to the Desert of the Real...

...

[douglas9]

2. Mission soldier killed in Iraq

MISSION -- A 21-year-old U.S. Army explosives expert from Mission was killed Tuesday morning in Iraq when insurgents fired upon his patrol vehicle, according to family members.

Pfc. Alex Gonzalez of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Engineers died from injuries sustained when a rocket-propelled grenade struck his armored personnel carrier. It was not immediately clear what other casualties his unit may have suffered in the attack.

Outside his parents' Mission home, where Gonzalez's truck was still parked in the driveway, distraught relatives gathered Tuesday to console one another and grieve - and to wonder why Gonzalez, who was quick to joke and eager to tell stories, had to die.

"This needs to stop. (Iraqis) don't want us there," his uncle Javier Rodriguez said. "If (President) Bush is so invested in not (withdraw-ing troops), then he should send his daughters there to feel the pain we feel."

http://www.themonitor.com/common/printer/view.php?db=monitortx&id=11689