March 29, 2003	Saturday	Muharram 25, 1424

RAMSTEIN (Germany), March 28: Eighteen US soldiers killed in the war on Iraq have been flown via the US military base at Ramstein, western Germany, back to the United States, a US spokesman said on Friday.

Giving numbers for the first time, Lieutenant Commander Rick Haupt said two bodies had been flown to the base on Monday and a further 16 on Wednesday.

“Ramstein is the only stop, and from there they are all going back to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware,” Haupt said.

A further 22 US casualties from the Gulf region — including 10 with battle-related wounds — were expected to arrive on Saturday morning at Ramstein for treatment at the nearby Landstuhl medical facility.

The centre, the US army’s biggest Europe-based hospital, currently has some 64 patients, of whom 25 are classed as having war injuries.—AFP