Two US soldiers were killed and three others wounded along with a civilian interpreter on December 26th when an Iraqi soldier opened fire on them during a joint patrol, the US military confirmed today.
"The incident occurred as US and Iraqi army soldiers were conducting operations to establish a combat outpost," US military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel James Hutton said, adding that two Iraqi soldiers had been taken into custody.
The spokesman's comments confirmed earlier reports of the incident by two Iraqi army generals.
The US military said it was not clear why the Iraqi soldier had opened fire, but two Iraqi generals claimed the attacker had links to Sunni Arab insurgent groups.
It is believed to be the first reported incident in which an Iraqi soldier has deliberately killed US servicemen since Saddam Hussein was toppled in the US-led invasion in 2003.
The US military said in a statement the two slain soldiers were Captain Rowdy Inman and Sergeant Benjamin Portell, both assigned to 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, III Corps, based in Fort Hood, Texas.
In response to the shooting, the Iraqi army has tightened screening of new recruits in the 2nd Division, which controls the Mosul region, and is carrying out more thorough background checks on serving soldiers, the Iraqi generals said.
US and Iraqi troops have been conducting joint patrols as part of a new US counter-insurgency strategy to curb sectarian violence and improve the capabilities of Iraq's military, which will take over more security responsibilities to allow US forces to begin withdrawing from Iraq.