A sad loss of life like everything else in that war. I have my suspicions that the shooter may have been under the effects of PTSD when he did what he did; it doesn't absolve him, but may explain why he would turn his gun against his fellow soldiers.BBC News wrote:US soldier kills comrades in Iraq
A US soldier has shot dead five of his colleagues at a base in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, the Pentagon says.
Two other people were hurt in the shootings and the gunman is in custody, Pentagon officials have said.
An earlier military statement said the incident happened at Camp Liberty near Baghdad's international airport at about 1400 (1100 GMT).
It reportedly occurred at a clinic where troops receive help for personal issues or combat stress.
It is not the first time a US soldier has opened fire on comrades in recent years.
One soldier was sentenced to death in 2005 after killing two officers and wounding 14 other personnel with grenades and a rifle at a camp in Kuwait.
'Terrible tragedy'
The BBC's Natalia Antelava, in Baghdad, says troops at Camp Liberty had been enjoying a much more relaxed atmosphere in recent months.
She says there have been few attacks on the base recently, so the timing of the shooting will make it particularly shocking to the soldiers there.
It is the deadliest single incident involving US forces since 10 April, when five soldiers were killed by a truck bomb in the northern city of Mosul.
"Anytime we lose one of our own, it affects us all," said military spokesman Colonel John Robinson.
"Our hearts go out to the families and friends of all the service members involved in this terrible tragedy."
Analysts say violence in Iraq has dropped sharply over the past two years, but sporadic attacks on US bases continue.
Earlier this month, a man in an Iraqi army uniform shot dead two US soldiers and injured three others at a base near Mosul.
Iraqi military reports said he was a soldier also working as an imam at a mosque on the base.
US forces are due to withdraw combat troops from Iraq by August 2010.
US soldier kills other US soldiers in Iraq
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US soldier kills other US soldiers in Iraq
An US soldier has attacked his comrades in Iraq and killed several, as reported by BBC News.
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Re: US soldier kills other US soldiers in Iraq
I heard something on the radio while coming home that he had been attending a "suicide prevention" sort of thing. Um... yeah. Guess it's not 100% effective.
And yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if PTSD and stress played a role. People with mental health issues + firearms is not a good mix.
And yeah, it wouldn't surprise me if PTSD and stress played a role. People with mental health issues + firearms is not a good mix.
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Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
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Now I did a job. I got nothing but trouble since I did it, not to mention more than a few unkind words as regard to my character so let me make this abundantly clear. I do the job. And then I get paid.- Malcolm Reynolds, Captain of Serenity, which sums up my feelings regarding the lawsuit discussed here.
If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy
Sam Vimes Theory of Economic Injustice