"Violent Semi-Peace" Update: US Soldiers Shot by Iraqi Police

Update (25 February): One of the US soldiers has died of his injuries. Details of the incident are still unclear.

Update (5:30 p.m.): The four US soldiers shot by Iraqi policemen were wounded, not killed. Their translator was slain.


In the "new Iraq", the narrative of a sharp decrease of violence, combined by the sheer length of the conflict from 2003, has mentioned that even the deaths of American troops get little notice. For example, today's New York Times headlines, "Iraq Accuses 12 Policemen in a String of Killings", and then mentions, "The announcement came as sporadic violence continued across Iraq, including the deaths of three American soldiers and their interpreter" in Diyala Province, north of Baghdad.

Another story is about to make its own headlines, however. Breaking news indicates that US soldiers and an interpreter have been shot by Iraqi policemen at a checkpoint on a bridge in Mosul. There are conflicting accounts over the numbers of dead and wounded.