Spanish troops attacked in Iraq
Thursday, May 20, 2004 Posted: 5:45 AM EDT (0945 GMT)
BAGHDAD, IRAQ (CNN) -- A Spanish security patrol has came under fire from Iraqi
insurgents after it accompanied Spanish forces leaving Iraq for Kuwait.
One soldier was injured after the insurgents attacked the patrol Thursday
morning in Hamzah about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of the town of
Diwaniyah, according to the Spanish Defense Ministry.
The Spanish forces returned fire, killing one Iraqi, injuring another and
taking one into custody, Cmdr. Jose Leon said.
The security patrol was returning to its base in Diwaniyah when it came under
attack.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has vowed to pull out his
country's remaining troops by May 27.
Zapatero campaigned on a promise to withdraw Spanish troops from the U.S-led
coalition unless the United Nations was given military and political control in
Iraq by June 30.
Zapatero's Socialists won a surprise victory in the election, held three days
after bombs on Madrid commuter trains killed 190 people.
A videotape found two days after the Madrid blasts claimed they were carried
out by al Qaeda in retaliation for Spain's support for the United States in
Iraq.
At the time of the initial withdrawal announcement, there were 1,430 Spanish
troops in Iraq. Nearly half of them have already left.
Earlier this month, U.S. troops took over operations at the Spanish military
base in south-central Iraq, allowing Madrid's forces to prepare their
withdrawal from the country.
Spanish forces still at the base in Diwaniya will concentrate on preparing
their withdrawal, the Defense Ministry said in a statement, leaving U.S. troops
to carry out patrols.
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