BEIJING, May 17 (Xinhuanet) — The U.S. military is offering a 200,000 U.S. dollar reward for information about the location of the three missing soldiers or who was involved in their disappearance, a senior U.S. military official said on Wednesday.
Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch, commander of U.S. troops south of Baghdad, said the offer was made on 50,000 leaflets distributed in the area where the troops disappeared.
“We distributed 50,000 leaflets, and in the leaflets and over loudspeakers we listed the numbers of our tips lines,” Lynch said.
He said the reward was one of several measures being taken as part of the search. Troops have pursued 143 intelligence leads, have staged eight air assault operations and established blocking positions to keep those behind the abductions from fleeing with their captives, he added.
“We’ve done so much as to drain canals after a report that the bodies were in a canal,” Lynch said. “So we’re leaving no stone unturned.”
Insurgents attacked a patrol of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter in an area 20 km west of Mahmoudiyah town south of Baghdad on May 12, killing four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter. Three others were missing after the raid, whom were presumebly abducted by a militant group.