The Pentagon was forced on Monday to retract major portions of one of the biggest stories out of Iraq this week: the alleged mutilation of two U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul. The original story went something like this: Iraqis had captured two U.S. troops, slit their throats, pulled them from the vehicles, dragged them through the streets, pummeled them with rocks and mutilated them. The story was front page news across the country. The Daily News of New York ran a banner headline reading: “Bastards: Iraqi teen wolf pack ambushes 2 GIS, drags them into street and mutilates them.” But it turns out the story is largely untrue. The Pentagon now says the troops actually died from gun wounds, were not dragged through the streets, were not mutilated and were not pummeled with rocks. The New York Times reports the Pentagon has yet to fully explain how the initial story developed.