Army Sgt. Radhames Camilo Matos

Died January 7, 2006 Serving During Operation Iraqi Freedom

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24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico; assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Hood, Texas; died Jan. 7 of non-combat-related injuries in Taji, Iraq.

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Fort Hood soldier dies in Iraq

FORT HOOD, Texas — A 4th Infantry Division soldier died in Iraq over the weekend of non-combat-related causes, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

The death of Sgt. Radhames Camilo Matos brings to 11 the number of 4th Infantry soldiers who have died in Iraq since late December, when the bulk of the division’s 17,000-plus soldiers returned to the war zone.

Camilo Matos, 24, of Carolina, Puerto Rico, died in Taji on Jan. 7. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, based at Fort Hood.

Division spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Withington, reached by phone Tuesday in Baghdad, said he could not provide further details of Camilo Matos’ death, which remains under investigation.

Five 4th Infantry soldiers were killed last week in Najaf when an improvised bomb detonated near their Humvee during convoy operations.

Among the five was Sgt. Johnny Peralez, 25, of Kingsville, who was at the start of his second year-long deployment to Iraq.

In late December, Chief Warrant Officer Richard Salter of Cypress was one of two 4th Infantry aviators killed in Baghdad when their Apache helicopter crashed after a midair collision with another aircraft.

Three of the division’s soldiers also died in late December in Baghdad, two of them when an improvised bomb exploded near their foot patrol and the other when a bomb went off near his Humvee.

— Associated Press