U.S., Iraqi police dispute death toll in ambushes

General: Coordinated attacks show little sophistication

Monday, December 1, 2003 Posted: 7:06 PM EST (0006 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/01/sprj.irq.main/index.html

Kimmitt said the casualty reports were "visual battlefield reports ... from soldiers involved in the engagement.

"That's why we have said all of these are estimated," he said.

Iraqi police in Samarra said they could confirm only eight deaths, including an elderly Iranian man believed to have been on a pilgrimage to a shrine in the town. The Iraqis said at least 50 people were wounded.

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U.S.: New Iraqi currency a lure for attacks

Central Command: GI killed Monday west of Baghdad

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/12/01/sprj.irq.main/index.html

Iraqi police disputed the U.S. casualty information about the attackers, saying that only eight bodies were in the morgue, including two elderly Iranian pilgrims, and that none wore Fedayeen clothing. Police said 50 people were wounded.

Rudesheim conceded that some of the insurgents reported to be dead may actually have been wounded, because of the method that U.S. forces used to collect information about the firefight.

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U.S. military says 54 Iraqis die in Samarra battle, but residents say death toll is much lower

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/a/2003/12/01/international0612EST0463.DTL

The U.S. military initially said 46 Iraqi fighters died and five American soldiers were injured. But a statement on Monday raised the Iraqi dead to 54.

Residents of Samarra disputed those figures, saying at most eight or nine people died. Three bodies lay in the hospital morgue. There was no way to reconcile the accounts.

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