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No words:

Villagers south of Baghdad found a body in the Euphrates River late Wednesday morning that Iraqi police believe may be that of one of three U.S. soldiers missing since they were abducted in a May 12 ambush while on patrol near Mahmoudiyah.

The body was found floating near the Al Musayyib bridge around 11 a.m., according to an Iraqi police major at the village police station who would not give his name because he was not authorized to release the information.

The body, which had been shot in the head and face, was dressed in U.S.-issue trousers and boots and was marked with tattoos, he said. It was not decomposed.

On Saturday, Gen. David Petraeus told reporters that they believe two of the three missing soldiers may still be alive:

In an interview with the Army Times newspaper last week, Gen. David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said he believed at least two of the missing soldiers were alive.

“As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive,” he said in the interview, which was posted on the newspaper’s Web site on Saturday. “At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don’t know.”

More details. Gen. Caldwell speaks:

U.S. authorities took custody of the body found in a river south of the capital but have not determined if it was that of a missing U.S. soldier, the chief military spokesman said.

The military also said a string of roadside bombings and gunbattles across Iraq killed nine U.S. servicemen, as Iraqi police reported a suicide bomber killed 15 people in a cafe east of Baghdad.

“Iraqi police did find the body of a man whom they believe may be one of our missing soldiers,” Maj. Gen. William C. Caldwell told reporters. “We have received the body and we will work diligently to determine if he is in fact one of our missing soldiers.” He said that if the body proves to be one of the missing soldiers, his family will be notified first.

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