U.S. Sweeps Iraq Seeking 3 Soldiers Missing in Attack

13 May NY Times - U.S. Sweeps Iraq Seeking 3 Soldiers Missing in Attack by Kirk Semple.

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About 4,000 American ground troops supported by surveillance aircraft, attack helicopters and spy satellites swept towns and farmland south of Baghdad today searching for three American soldiers who disappeared on Saturday after their patrol was ambushed, military officials said.

The Islamic State of Iraq, an insurgent umbrella group, claimed responsibility today for the attack, which killed four American soldiers and an Iraqi Army soldier, and it said it had captured the three missing Americans. The group offered no proof for its claim...

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Two hummers? The news reports imply they were traveling without any other vehicles. Any thoughts or insight as to why they would be in that position? :confused:

This article in the Wash Post has the most info I could find:

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The American soldiers were not moving in a convoy at the time of the attack, but rather parked in two Humvees in an area 12 miles west of Mahmudiyah, attempting to prevent insurgents from laying down roadside bombs, said a U.S. military official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Americans frequently conduct such missions, known as "overwatch," to monitor suspected trouble spots at night. It is unusual to have American soldiers out on patrol in as few as two vehicles.

"This was not a convoy, they weren't roving, they were in a fixed location," the official said. "Their mission was to counter the emplacement of improvised explosive devices."

The coordinated attack began when a roadside bomb blew up on the soldiers, followed by gunfire, officials said. The two vehicles went up in flames and were spotted 15 minutes later by a surveillance drone, after a nearby unit that heard explosions could not make contact with the Humvees. The extent of the damage made it difficult to identify the slain soldiers.

On Sunday, Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell, the top American military spokesman in Iraq, said the interpreter and four soldiers had been killed. Military officials have so far been able to identify all but one of the soldiers, Caldwell said ...

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