Baghdad, Iraq – U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism Thursday that three missing American soldiers are still alive, even as troops drained canals and questioned children in the search for the troops feared captured by al-Qaeda.
FBI agents and Australian forensic experts have joined the search for the soldiers, who disappeared after an attack south of Baghdad on Saturday in which four U.S. troops and one Iraqi were killed.
Lt. Col. Randy Martin, a U.S. military spokesman, said five days of searches had produced a number of leads that “point to the fact that these men are still alive.”
“There are also reports to the contrary. But we have an obligation to follow on every intelligence tip,” Martin said. “There is cautious optimism that in fact these soldiers can be found alive. That’s what we pray for, that’s what we hope for.”
Col. Michael Kershaw, a brigade commander, said some physical evidence associated with the missing soldiers had been found, raising hopes they were alive. He refused to say more.
Martin said some of the Iraqis detained in the search may have been directly involved in the ambush, which occurred along a rural road near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad.
More than 500 people have been questioned so far, of whom 150 had provided intelligence, according to Kershaw.
The area is inhabited by Sunni Arab clans who had been loyal to Saddam Hussein, and al-Qaeda has been active there for several years. Last June, three soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were killed in the same area. One died in an insurgent attack. The others were abducted and their mutilated bodies were found three days later.Two officers were relieved of their commands after those killings. A military investigation has concluded that the soldiers had been left alone for 36 hours in a poorly planned mission.
While the search was underway Thursday, three American soldiers were killed and another was wounded in a roadside bombing south of Baghdad, the U.S. military reported.
Mortar rounds also hit the U.S. Air Force base at Taji, north of Baghdad, destroying one helicopter and damaging nine others, Iraqi police said.
Across the country, at least 58 Iraqis were killed or found dead.
Also, the U.S. and Iran announced plans Thursday to hold rare face-to-face talks about Iraqi security, in Baghdad on May 27. The U.S. and Iran have not had diplomatic relations since 1980.
