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% Attacks suggest new effort to hinder Iraq plan BY CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA THE ASSOCIATE) I'RKSS BAGHC/aD, IRAQ — Drive-by gunmen killed two Europeans working on a water project south of the Iraqi capital Tuesday, bring ing to six the number of foreign humanitarian workers cut down in shooting attacks in Iraq over the past two days. Four American missionaries also working on a water project in the northern city of Mosul were killed in a similar attack a day ear lier. The twin attacks seemed to sig nal a shift by insurgent gunmen to so-called soft targets in their ef fort to snarl work by the U.S.-led coalition to rebuild Iraq in prepa ration for the American hand-over of authority to the Iraqis on June 30. Three Iraqi police officers and a translator working for the U.S. military also were gunned down Tuesday, victims of a long-run ning rebel campaign to kill those perceived as collaborating with the United States. At a military ceremony in Tikrit, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the attacks on humanitarian workers were an attempt to in timidate those trying to help the 36-nation U.S.-led coalition. “Clearly there has been a shift in the insurgency and the way the extremists are conducting opera tions," Sanchez said. “It is very clear they Eire going after these tar gets that might create some splits within the coEilition." The role of Spain in the coali tion remained in doubt Tuesday after Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero promised to withdraw the country’s 1,300 troops by June 30 if the United Nations does not take control of peacekeeping. The Spanish troops operate south of Baghdad. Honduras, following the lead of Spain, said it would withdraw its 370 troops from the Spanish-led humanitarian and peacekeeping brigade by the end of June, Defense Secretary Federico Breve said Tuesday. On Tuesday, Sanchez said the coalition could manage without the Spaniards. The Tuesday killings involved a German and a Dutch national gunned down near the town of Mussayab, 45 miles south of Baghdad, officials said. Their Iraqi driver and a police officer also were killed in the at tack. Two police officers were wounded. Col. A’ayed Omran, police chief in Mussayab, said the two were water engineers working on a pro ject at Al-Razzaza, a lake near the southern city of Karbala. He said they were carrying weapons be cause they had been attacked in the same area before. The four U.S. missionaries slain in Mosul were working on a wa ter-purification project. One of them died on the way to a U.S. mil itary hospital in Baghdad early Tuesday, and a fifth was being treated. In Mosul on Tuesday, assailants in a car fired on a police vehicle, killing two officers and wounding two others, police said. The gun men fled. In another shooting in Mosul, gunmen killed an Iraqi woman working as a translator for the U.S. military, the U.S.-led coalition said. Two of her family members were wounded in the attack on their vehicle. Mosul was a prime recruiting ground for the officer corps of Saddam’s army, and U.S. military officials have described the city as a hotbed of guerrilla activity. The Virginia-based Southern Baptist International Mission Board identified the four dead missionaries as Larry T. Elliott, 60, and Jean Dover Elliott, 58, of Cary, N.C.; Karen Denise Watson, 38, of Bakersfield, Calif.; and David E. McDonnall, 28, of Rowlett, Texas. Soldier surrenders to unit after refusing to return to Iraq war BY ADRIAN SAINZ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NORTH MIAMI, FLA. - A soldier who refused to return to Iraq be cause he was disturbed by a gun fight that killed innocent civilians reported to the Florida National Guard on Tuesday in preparation for seeking conscientious objec tor status. National Guard offi cials said he was considered a de serter. Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia walked into the North Miami Armory af ter repeating his determination not to return to the Middle East and fight. “I’m prepared to go to prison be cause I’ll have a clear conscience," Mejia said. Mejia, 28, of Miami Beach, was in Iraq for about five months un til October, when he returned home on leave. He did not return to duty. He surrendered Monday at an Air Force base in Massachusetts and was ordered to return to Florida and report to the Florida National Guard. “This is an oil-driven war, and I don’t think any soldier signs up to fight for oil," Mejia said Monday after arriving at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Florida National Guard spokesman Jon Myatt said Mejia had been classified as a deserter because he was missing from his unit for more iUnv. OA/lmro ___ _ Myatt said a warrant to arrest Mejia as a desert er could be is sued if Mejia failed to appear Wednesday at the Armv’s Fort Stewart, Ga., where his unit—the 1st Battalion, 124th Infantry Regiment — is deployed from. National Guard Maj. Kip Lassner explained that Mejia was under Army orders and not Guard jurisdiction. He would not discuss potential penalties that Mejia could face, and a spokesman at Fort Stewart did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Mejia was accompanied to the armory by his mother, an aunt and Spc. Oliver Perez, who served with him. Perez said Mejia is “a brave leader” and should not be prosecuted. “I fought next to him in many battles. He is not a coward," Perez said. Mejia said he was particularly . upset over an incident in Iraq in which he and bushed and inno cent civilians were hit in the ensuing gunfire. Mejia, a na tive of Nicaragua, is a nermanent resi dent of the United States who served in the Army for three years. He had served in the National Guard for five years when his unit was called to active duty. In civilian life, he was a psy chology student at the University of Miami. Mejia said he joined the mili tary so he could work his way into American society. He could not say whether he might be deported because of his refusal to serve, but said “whatever sacrifice I have to mis is an oii-ariven war, and I don’t think any soldier signs up to fight for oil.” STAFF SGT.CAMILO MEJIA FLORIDA NATIONAL GUARD • ^ .— •• ■ fl- PR.". I . wi — ——7 The Sign Says It All .... ■ 1 sr i _ _ * 1 STERLING UNIVERSITY Riverside 739 - 0899 www.sterlinghousing.com □□SUH I ;;"'iLi One Month FREE RENT $0 Deposit Special Ethernet/Water Included Free Shuttle to USC 0 215 Spencer Place Cayce, SC ‘Restrictions may apply _ _i__i_J