A US soldier from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment has drowned in the Euphrates River and another died from "non-hostile gunshot" wounds, the US Central Command said in a statement Sunday.
It said that the soldier who drowned died at around
8:30 p.m. (local time) Saturday near Hadithah Dam, west of the Iraqi town of Ar Ramadi.
"After a thorough search of the area the soldier's body was found and positively identified at approximately 11 a.m. August 24," the statement added.
Earlier, Central Command said another 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment soldier had died from "non-hostile gunshot" wounds Saturday, but without stating how the soldier was injured or where the incident took place.
Elsewhere, a bomb ripped through the home of one of Iraq's most important Shiite clerics in the city of Najaf on Sunday, killing three guards and injuring family members, a relative of the cleric and member of the Iraqi Governing Council said, according to the AP.
A gas cylinder wired to explode was placed along the outside wall of the home of Mohammed Saeed al-Hakim. It blew up just after noon prayers.
The cleric suffered scratches on his neck, according to Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a member of Iraq's U.S.-picked Governing Council and leader of what was the armed wing of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, or SCIRI, headquartered in Iran before the war.
The two men are part of an influential family in the Shiite community. Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim is the brother of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqir al-Hakim, the leader of SCIRI.
"Obviously terrorist groups who belong to the former regime are behind this incident," Abdel-Aziz Hakim told The Associated Press. He added Najaf residents rushed to the ayatollah's house after the explosion, which shattered windows and damaged a wall. (Albawaba.com)
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