BAGHDAD, 28 May 2005 — Insurgents killed two US soldiers when they shot down their chopper near a rebel hotbed, the military said yesterday, as the Iraqi government sealed off Baghdad in a bid to quell mounting attacks in the capital.
The fate of Al-Qaeda’s ringleader in Iraq, Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, reported to have been badly wounded and the focus of conflicting Internet claims, remained unclear as the Iraqi army said it had detained one of his aides.
On the political front, the president of the parliamentary committee due to draw up Iraq’s new constitution said the body would begin work on the vital document today. “Tomorrow will be the first meeting during which we will start discussing the constitution drafting process,” Shiite MP Humam Hammudi told AFP.
The constitutional drafting process will be one of the biggest tests of post-Saddam Hussein Iraq, with key issues such as federalism, Islam and women’s rights likely to prove contentious. The constitution is due to be drafted by Aug. 15.
The dead US soldiers were flying in one of two helicopters attacked by insurgent gunfire which crashed as they were carrying out a support mission for coalition troops near the rebel stronghold of Baquba late Thursday. The second chopper managed to land at a US air base after sustaining damage, it said, with US forces securing the area around the crash site.
US and Iraqi forces swiftly began raids in the area, said an Iraqi army colonel. “American and Iraqi forces started carrying out raids at 4:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on houses and farms in Bahruz (five kilometers south of Baquba) where the helicopter came down and we arrested 15 suspects in this area,” said Col. Dhia Ismael.
