Body found in Iraq river is that of missing US soldier
A body pulled from the Euphrates River south of Baghdad yesterday has been identified as one of three American soldiers abducted two weeks ago in an ambush claimed by al-Qaida.
A second body was also found in the area, but there was no immediate word if it was also one of the missing soldiers, according to a US military official.
Despite the discoveries, thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers combed fields and searched homes south of Baghdad for a 13th day today, hoping to turn up clues about the soldiers.
“The search continues,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman.
Military officials told the family of Private Joseph Anzack of Torrance, California, that a commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but that DNA tests were still pending.
“They told us, ’We’re sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe,”’ said the soldier’s aunt, Debbie Anzack. “I’m in disbelief.”
Anzack, 20, vanished along with the two others after their combat team was ambushed on May 12 about 20 miles outside of Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.
American forces also disclosed nine more deaths yesterday, raising to 20 the number of US troops killed in four days.
The spike in American deaths and the discovery of the bodies come at a difficult moment for Washington, where the Bush administration and Congress are struggling to agree on funding for the Iraq conflict. The search for the captured soldiers has also taken thousands of troops out of the pool of forces for the Baghdad security crackdown.
Nationwide at least 104 people were killed in sectarian violence or found dead yesterday, including 32 who perished in suicide bombings. One bombing took place 60 miles west of the capital, the other in a city to the east near the Iranian border.
