US tank commander shot dead in move on Baghdad

SADDAM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Baghdad (AFP) Apr 05, 2003
A US tank commander was shot and killed and two other soldiers were wounded Saturday during a drive through the centre of Baghdad where they encountered intense Iraqi fire, a senior officer said.

"We had one KIA (killed in action)," Colonel David Perkins, commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, told AFP.

Asked how he was killed, Perkins said the commander had sustained a "head wound".

The second soldier had suffered chest wounds while the third had been shot in the shoulder, Perkins added.

A battalion of some 30 US tanks rolled deep into Baghdad early Saturday, but Perkins said they had come under heavy fire.

Rocket-propelled grenades had been aimed at the tanks from rooftops while they also came under fire from shop fronts and bridges, the colonel added.

SPACE.WIRE