Two U.S. Soldiers Killed While Investigating Suspect Iraqi Chemical Site

Two U.S. soldiers were killed today in an explosion while inspecting a suspected Iraqi “chemical munitions” storage site, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, March 30).

A team of U.S. soldiers was inspecting a building in the Waziriya district of Baghdad on the basis of information that it might have contained “chemical munitions” when the explosion occurred, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. He also said that the owner of the building had been suspected of providing “chemical agents” to Iraqi insurgents. In addition to the two killed in the blast, five other soldiers were injured.

Following the blast, there were no indications in the area of special measures taken to protect against chemicals, AP reported.

“Chemical munitions could mean any number of things,” including smoke grenades, Kimmitt said (Bassem Mroue, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, April 26).

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