U.S. troops detain 11 in search for missing soldiers

The soldiers are from the 10th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum, N.Y.
BAGHDAD (AP) -- U.S. troops have questioned hundreds of people and detained 11 in the search for three American soldiers feared captured by al-Qaida during a deadly weekend ambush south of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday.
Four American soldiers and an Iraqi were killed in the weekend ambush and their vehicles burned. Two Defense Department officials said they could not yet identify one of the dead, hampering the military's ability to determine who was missing. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the families had not been notified.
"We have conducted more than 450 tactical interviews and detained 11 individuals" as of Monday night, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Christopher Garver said.
Two of the dead soldiers, including a 19-year-old whose stepfather is also serving in Iraq, were identified by their families.
For a fourth day, jets, helicopters and unmanned surveillance aircraft crisscrossed the skies over the sparsely populated farm area near Mahmoudiya, 20 miles south of Baghdad to search for the missing soldiers. U.S. and Iraqi troops -- backed by dog teams -- searched vehicles and pedestrians. Other teams peered into crawl spaces and probed for possible secret chambers in homes.
Military officials confirmed the soldiers were assigned to Company D, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the "Polar Bears," said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, a Fort Drum spokesman. The 10th Mountain Division has a reputation for success that dates to World War II. Ready to go anywhere in the world within 48 hours, the 10th Mountain is trained to fight in steamy jungles, sandy deserts, cities and, of course, mountains.
Dead and/or missing
The Pentagon confirmed the dead as Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell Jr., 40, of Lake City, Tenn.; Pfc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19, of Nashville, Mich.; and Pfc. Christopher E. Murphy, 21, of Lynchburg, Va.
The four other soldiers are Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, 23, of Reno, Nev.; Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass.; Pfc. Joseph J. Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif.; and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. The Pentagon said one of those four was among the dead, but it could not confirm which one.
Connell's family learned of his death Saturday afternoon, relatives said.
The soldier had just recovered from a shrapnel wound to the leg and had visited his family on leave this month. The family is now planning a memorial service in Lake City and a burial at Arlington National Cemetery, according to his brother, Jeff Connell.
"I'm proud of my dad, because he didn't really fight for himself, he fought for the country," Connell's teenage daughter, Courtney, told Knoxville's WATE-TV.
In Michigan, students at Maple Valley High School created a memorial for Courneya, who graduated in 2005 and was well-known in the small community southwest of Lansing. He was a member of the school's track and soccer teams and played clarinet in the band.
"It's a tribute of photos, posters, plaques and a picture of him in his uniform," school official Kelly Zank told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Courneya's mother, Wendy Thompson, said her husband, Army Spc. David Thompson, was in Iraq and returning home after learning of his stepson's death.
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