Two Spanish casualties in Iraq

Nov. 29 - Seven Spanish Intelligence Officers Killed, One Injured, in Iraq in coordinated attacks on their two vehicles. They were hit with RPGs and rifle fire outside of Al Mamudiya, 18 miles south of Baghdad after a mission.

Spokesmen for Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar (search) said the government won't be intimidated nor deterred from its mission of attempting to help Iraq achieve peace and democracy following the long dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and the U.S.-led invasion last March that toppled it.

"We are grateful to all the people who serve Spain and Spain's democracy beyond our borders fighting terrorism and guaranteeing freedom and democracy," Justice Minister Jose Maria Michavila said.

There are 1,300 Spanish troops in Iraq. A Spanish diplomat was assasinated in Baghdad in October, and a Spanish navy captain died of injuries sustained in the UN bombing last August.

President Bush called President Aznar to express our sympathies.

In another attack, two Japanese diplomats were ambushed and killed outside of Tikrit as they returned after attending a reconstruction aid conference.

CNN has a special page dedicated to coalition casualties. There have been 509 confirmed coalition deaths, 437 Americans, 53 British, 17 Italians, one Dane and one Polish, in the war as of November 28, 2003 (and thus don't include today's Spanish and Japanese deaths.)

When this campaign first began, Pres. Bush said that coalition members would contribute in many ways, and some would not even be contributing openly. But words are inadequte to express the gratitude of the American people for the sacrifices some of these countries have made in trying to stablilize Iraq and our sympathies to the families of these brave men and women.

Police in Germany and Italy have arrested 3 men on suspicion of terrorism related activities, but the situation may be connected to Iraq:

CNN's Rome Bureau Chief Alessio Vinci said the arrests in Italy and Germany were "significant" because it had been thought that Italy had been used only for logistical purposes, such as a base for providing false documents or shelter.

But the authorities are now investigating the possibility that Italy is being used to recruit and train terrorists for Iraq and elsewhere.

In a related story, FOX reports that Iraqi police may have coordinated some of the attacks:

U.S. military officials are concerned that a few of the numerous Iraqi civilians hired by the U.S. military may have planned attacks by gleaning intelligence on troop movements and travels of high-ranking officers, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez told reporters at the Baghdad Convention Center.

UPDATE: Two US soldiers were killed and one wounded yesterday in an ambush near the border town of Husaybah, 180 miles northwest of Baghdad. They were from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

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