U.S. Pilot Whose Jet Went Down in Iraq Killed in Action, Military Says
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – An American pilot whose F-16 fighter jet went down in Iraq was listed as killed in action following DNA analysis of remains recovered at the crash site, the U.S. Air Force said Sunday.
Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, 34, was supporting troops fighting in Anbar province, where many of the country's Sunni-Arab insurgent groups operate. Videotape footage obtained by Associated Press Television News after the crash appeared to show the wreckage of the F-16CG in a field and a tangled parachute nearby.
Remains recovered at the crash site 20 miles north of Baghdad were identified as Gilbert's, the Air Force said.
U.S. forces investigating the crash have said insurgents reached the site before American forces could. The cause of the crash is under investigation, but officials said they did not believe Gilbert was shot down.
Separately, the military said three U.S. soldiers have been killed by roadside bombs in Iraq.
Two soldiers died Saturday when an explosive device hit their security patrol in the Anbar province.
The other soldier died of injuries sustained yesterday just north of Baghdad when his convoy struck a roadside bomb.