U.S.: 'Precision attack' by Karbala ambushers 'well rehearsed'; soldiers shot in head after handcuffing, found dead or dying miles away

U.S. troops on patrol in Karbala Friday night

BAGHDAD — Four of the five U.S. soldiers killed in a sophisticated attack in southern Iraq last week were shot after they were captured, handcuffed and driven miles away by gunmen who appeared to have detailed information about their target, U.S. and Iraqi officials said Friday.

"The attackers went straight to where the Americans were located in the provincial government facility, bypassing the Iraqi police in the compound," Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad, said in a statement. "We are looking at all the evidence to determine who or what was responsible for the breakdown in security at the compound and the perpetration of the assault."

The U.S. military said last week that five soldiers in Karbala died fending off the Jan. 20 attack on a provincial security building, but details of what happened were not released.

"The precision of the attack, the equipment used and the possible use of explosives to destroy the military vehicles in the compound suggests that the attack was well rehearsed prior to execution," Bleichwehl said.

Read the rest at the LA Times

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