| 20 000 more troops Original Source Link: (May no longer be active) http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=409977http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=409977
US sends in extra troops to quell unrest By Andrew Buncombe in Washington 27 May 2003
A further 20,000 US troops are to be deployed in Iraq amid growing concerns that there are insufficient forces to bring law and order to the country after the American-led invasion.
Over the next few weeks, troops from the 1st Armoured Division will start to arrive, bringing the total number of US forces to about 163,000. Whether forces from other countries will be deployed is unclear, though there are certainly no plans to add more American troops to the so-called stabilisation force.
General Peter Pace, deputy chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: "The number is being increased as we speak by about 18,000 with the arrival of the 1st Armoured Division."
News of the deployment was given amid increasing concern that there were not enough soldiers within Iraq, which has been rife with looting since Saddam Hussein's regime was ousted six weeks ago.
In an illustration of the problems establishing order, two American soldiers were killed yesterday in separate incidents. One soldier was killed and another wounded when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified gunmen who opened fire on them in northern Iraq. Separately, another American died and three other soldiers were injured by a land mine when their Humvee military vehicle ran over a landmine on the outskirts of Baghdad, military officials said.
The exact circumstances were unclear but US Central Command said the land mine may have been the result of "hostile action", and witnesses said a burst of gunfire preceded the explosion.
Meanwhile, in Baqubah, 45 miles north-east of Baghdad, US soldiers shot and killed a woman carrying two hand grenades who was trying to approach them. The incident occurred immediately after unknown attackers threw handheld explosives at US soldiers in the town, Central Command said. 27 May 2003 08:05
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