European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 18, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pace 12 k stars and stripes sunday March 18 2007 2600 gis to join by Jeff Schogol stars and stripes Arlington a about 2600 soldiers with the 3rd infantry divisions combat aviation brigade will deploy Early As part of the Iraq surge a senior de sense official said Friday based in fort Stewart a the unit originally was supposed to deploy in june but on thursday defense Secretary Robert Gates approved a request to Send the unit downrange 45 Days Early the official said the aviation brigade Hasa mix of helicopters including Black Hawks and chinooks to support the five brigade combat teams expected to arrive by May in Iraq As part of the temporary troop increase the official said right now there Are three com Bat aviation brigades in Iraq the soldiers in the brigade would come in addition to the roughly 2200 military police and supporting elements that the us commander in Iraq has requested for Detainee operations and the 2400 support troops included in the surge bringing the total troop increase to about 28700 the official said originally the plan estimated adding about 21500 troops to Iraq defense officials told the associated press that Gen David Petraeus the new us commander in Iraq wanted the buildup to move As quickly As possible this was requested Over a month ago As part of the surge col Steven Boylan Public affairs officer for Petraeus told the news service these Are we Call the enablers army spokesman Paul Boyce would not confirm if the aviation brigade is heading to Iraq earlier than expected saying it would be inappropriate to spec ulate on troop deployments until All soldiers and families had been informed soldiers and their families de serve to be told first Boyce said the process of notifying troops and their families about upcoming deployments does not always work smoothly in november the defense department announced the 173rd airborne brigade combat team based in Vicenza Italy would be heading to Iraq As part of the 20072009 rotation the unit was later ordered to Afghanistan instead but initial news of the deployment caught the units soldiers and their families by Surprise at the time Pentagon spokes Man Bryan Whitman said deployments Are supposed to be made Public Only after units have been told i wish that was perfect and every individual would know be fore it was made Public and i dont know in this particular Case at what level in the Chain of command that might have knowl Edge of this he said currently about 142000 us troops Are stationed in Iraq email Jeff Schogol at people March during a protest against the us military presence in Sadr City on Friday some 10000 people protested against the opening off a joint us and iraqi forces base in the Baghdad enclave mayor attack stirs tension some shiites blame violence on cooperation with us troops by Qassim Abdulzahra the associated press Baghdad an attack against the mayor of Sadr City has created tension in the ranks of shiite militiamen with some blaming a faction unhappy about cooperation with americans a local com Mander said Friday gunmen opened fire on the Convoy carrying mayor Rahim Alda Raji on thursday in Eastern Baghdad seriously wounding him and killing two of his bodyguards police and a local official said the occupiers want to harm this beloved Sadr City and tarnish its name by spreading false re mors and allegations that negotiations and cooperation Are ongoing Between you and them Muntada a Sadr said in a statement read to worshippers by Sheik Haider Aljabi i am confident that you will not make concessions to them and will remain above them raise your voices in love and brother Hood and Unity against your enemy and shout no no America Alda Raji was the principal negotiator in talks with us officials that led to an agreement to pull shiite fighters off the streets in Sadr City a Strong hold of the feared Mahdi army and a local com Mander said suspicion fell on a group of disaffected militiamen who Are angry about the Deal this is a faction that enjoys some weight the Mahdi army commander said speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject he said the attack has created tension within the ranks of the militia and renewed debate about allow ing the americans to operate in Sadr City without resistance during a Security sweep aimed at ending the sectarian violence that has raged since a feb 22 2006 bombing of a shiite shrine in Samarra Alda Raji also had lobbied the americans to bring reconstruction projects to Sadr City that would create jobs in the impoverished neighbor Hood us military commanders have said that could help disarm the largely unemployed men in the Mahdi army one of the dead bodyguards was identified As police it col Mohammad Mutasha Alfredi a Friend of Alda Raji who was politically linked to a Sadr the Success in reining in Alsa drs Mahdi army militia which fought fiercely against us forces in 2004 is widely credited with the drop in exec Tio style killings random shootings and rocket at tacks during the Mont hold operation and the attack against Alda Raji cast a Shadow on that strategy thousands of a Sadr supporters took to the streets after traditional weekly prayer services to protest a joint us iraqi base that has been established in the sprawling District in Eastern Baghdad As part of the Security plan two More american troops were reported killed Friday by the us military a Soldier who died in an explosion thursday in the volatile sunni prov Ince of Salahuddin Northwest of Baghdad and a Marine who died in a noncombat incident thursday in Anbar province another Marine died wednesday in a noncombat incident in Anbar British Coroner Calls Friendly fire incident criminal by Thomas Wagner the associated press London a Coroner ruled on Friday that a us Friendly fire attack that killed a British Soldier four years ago during the Iraq War was unlawful criminal and not an honest mistake Oxfordshire assistant Deputy Coroner Andrew Walker concluding an inquest also criticized the us military for failing to co operate with his investigation into the Inci Dent i believe that the full facts have not yet come to Light said Walker who has complained that he did not get All the evidence he needed about the us a10 Tan bust or plane that killed Lance Cpl Matty Hull 25 in an attack on his armoured vehicle con Voy four other British soldiers were wounded in the March 28 2003 attack in Southern Iraq the attack on the Convoy amounted to an assault Walker said it was unlawful because there was no lawful reason for it and in that respect it was criminal Walker also said i dont think this was a Case of honest mistake there is no Evi Dence the pilots were acting in self de sense the coroners verdict is not binding on the United states which is not subject to British Law reacting to the verdict hulls widow Susan said i feel we have been badly let Down by the americans she also told re porters that lessons must be Learned from my husbands death on thursday she appealed to president Bush to release the full text of a military re port on the incident she said 11 lines of the us military Friendly fire investigation Board report into the incident had been blacked out in a copy supplied to the inquest we have 1110 lines of evidence from this document but 11 Are blanked out she said flanked by her husbands parents and sister outside oxfords old assizes courthouse to president Bush and the us govern ment we implore you to release the 11 lines and let the Coroner have these today so that our family can feel More satisfied with the transparency of this inquest she said the Hull family says the deleted lines re late to an interview with the ground control Ler codenamed Manila hotel in charge of the two a10 planes that attacked hulls Convoy staff Cpl Stuart Matthews who was serv ing As a British Forward air controller with coalition ground troops in the area of the at tack told Walker that Manila hotel had not Given permission to open fire on the British tanks which the pilots had mistaken for iraqi vehicles but the Hull family believes that questions he was asked about communications and procedure during the incident have been censored the Coroner and the British government have repeatedly criticized the us military for failing to cooperate with the inquest us officials declined to Send the pilots involved to give evidence and refused to re lease a cockpit recording of the attack the recording was eventually Given to the Coroner after it was leaked to a British news paper and broadcast widely on television in the tape one us Pilot says were in jail dude after realizing his planes attack was a mistake the other Pilot cries and says god Damn it the pilots from the 190th fighter squad Ron of the Idaho air National guard said they could see Orange panels on top of the a Mored vehicles which were used to identify them As coalition forces they apparently mistakenly decided the panels were iraqi rocket launchers