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http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/na...30,0,7259879.story?coll=sfla-news-nationworld
or http://tinyurl.com/2d37f2
5 U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad
Insurgents attack after bomb explodes underneath convoy
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
The New York Times
June 30, 2007
BAGHDAD Five American soldiers were killed when insurgents blew up a huge
bomb beneath their convoy and then attacked the soldiers with a hail of
gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, military officials said Friday.
The attack on Thursday in Dora, a dangerous neighborhood in southern
Baghdad, added to the toll of the deadliest quarter yet for the American
military in Iraq: 330 troops have been killed during the past three months,
including 100 so far during June, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty
Count.
Dora has some of the capital's most intense Sunni insurgent activity, and
the coordinated assault on Thursday demonstrated what the senior commander
of American forces in Baghdad described as a remarkably tenacious and
bloodthirsty enemy.
"It was a very violent attack, and we thought it did show a level of
sophistication that we have not often seen so far in this campaign," said
Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr. He said the violence of the attack, started with a
single deeply buried bomb, was so intense that soldiers initially believed
it was from several car bombs. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the
attack.
The use of deeply buried bombs, usually made from artillery shells,
fertilizer bombs or other forms of powerful explosives, has become a common
tactic in Dora and other areas heavy with Sunni extremists. Harder to detect
than roadside bombs hidden in trash or vegetation, they can focus enough
explosive power to destroy even the largest American vehicles.
Deep-buried bombs in Arab Jabour, a remote area along the Tigris River a few
miles southeast of Dora, tore apart a Bradley fighting vehicle and flipped
over a 130,000-pound Abrams tank earlier this month, commanders say. The
vehicles hit by the buried bomb on Thursday, armored Humvees, were much
lighter.
Troops are taking new precautions to avoid the buried bombs, such as welding
shut access covers to sewer systems. "The deeper it is, the harder it is to
detect, obviously," Fil said.
American deaths have been steadily rising since last summer, when commanders
scrapped their strategy of letting Iraqi forces gradually take on a bigger
portion of security duties. In February, the military began the process of
bringing in five new combat brigades and returning thousands of American
combat troops to the front lines of the most dangerous areas of central
Iraq.
All of that has taken a huge toll: in the first six months of this year, 574
service members have died in Iraq, a 62 percent increase over the same
period last year, according to data from Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
"This is a skilled and determined enemy," Fil said during a news conference
on Friday, describing what he characterized as insurgents pressured by the
troop buildup now fighting back with deadly resolve. "He's ruthless. He's
got a thirst for blood like I've never seen anywhere in my life, and he's
determined to do whatever he can."
North of the capital in Khalis, meanwhile, American forces are investigating
accusations by local residents that a June 22 helicopter airstrike killed 11
civilians. The military initially described the operation as having killed
17 fighters for the insurgent group al-Qaida in Mesopotamia.
Security officials in Khalis said Friday that the men who were killed had
been associated with the Mahdi Army militia and had been called out by local
authorities to help defend a police station against an expected attack by
Sunni fighters. The Mahdi Army has a heavy presence in Khalis, where the
police chief was arrested by American forces three months ago for complicity
with sectarian militias.
The night of the airstrike, the police were told that American forces had
spotted armed men and were going to attack, but the police could not warn
the militiamen in time, the officials said. Eleven men were killed and six
wounded.
The BBC, which reported the American investigation on June 26, said
residents had described the victims as "village guards" who were helping
Iraqi police raid a suspected insurgent hideout. The villagers told the BBC
that the police then received an urgent message that American helicopters
were about to attack, but the village guards were killed before they could
take protective cover or leave.
In a statement, the American military said helicopters "observed a group of
armed men maneuvering in a military like formation," and matching
descriptions of insurgents. American and Iraqi forces had not been told
about, or approved, any watch program in the area, the statement said.
The statement quoted Col. David W. Sutherland, a brigade commander in
Diyala. "I consider the 17 armed men as a militia because they were
conducting an offensive operation in the vicinity of an I.P. operation," he
said, referring to the Iraqi police. "We engaged, protected the I.P.
element, and killed the enemy."
or http://tinyurl.com/2d37f2
5 U.S. soldiers killed in Baghdad
Insurgents attack after bomb explodes underneath convoy
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
The New York Times
June 30, 2007
BAGHDAD Five American soldiers were killed when insurgents blew up a huge
bomb beneath their convoy and then attacked the soldiers with a hail of
gunfire and rocket-propelled grenades, military officials said Friday.
The attack on Thursday in Dora, a dangerous neighborhood in southern
Baghdad, added to the toll of the deadliest quarter yet for the American
military in Iraq: 330 troops have been killed during the past three months,
including 100 so far during June, according to the Iraq Coalition Casualty
Count.
Dora has some of the capital's most intense Sunni insurgent activity, and
the coordinated assault on Thursday demonstrated what the senior commander
of American forces in Baghdad described as a remarkably tenacious and
bloodthirsty enemy.
"It was a very violent attack, and we thought it did show a level of
sophistication that we have not often seen so far in this campaign," said
Maj. Gen. Joseph Fil Jr. He said the violence of the attack, started with a
single deeply buried bomb, was so intense that soldiers initially believed
it was from several car bombs. Seven soldiers were also wounded in the
attack.
The use of deeply buried bombs, usually made from artillery shells,
fertilizer bombs or other forms of powerful explosives, has become a common
tactic in Dora and other areas heavy with Sunni extremists. Harder to detect
than roadside bombs hidden in trash or vegetation, they can focus enough
explosive power to destroy even the largest American vehicles.
Deep-buried bombs in Arab Jabour, a remote area along the Tigris River a few
miles southeast of Dora, tore apart a Bradley fighting vehicle and flipped
over a 130,000-pound Abrams tank earlier this month, commanders say. The
vehicles hit by the buried bomb on Thursday, armored Humvees, were much
lighter.
Troops are taking new precautions to avoid the buried bombs, such as welding
shut access covers to sewer systems. "The deeper it is, the harder it is to
detect, obviously," Fil said.
American deaths have been steadily rising since last summer, when commanders
scrapped their strategy of letting Iraqi forces gradually take on a bigger
portion of security duties. In February, the military began the process of
bringing in five new combat brigades and returning thousands of American
combat troops to the front lines of the most dangerous areas of central
Iraq.
All of that has taken a huge toll: in the first six months of this year, 574
service members have died in Iraq, a 62 percent increase over the same
period last year, according to data from Iraq Coalition Casualty Count.
"This is a skilled and determined enemy," Fil said during a news conference
on Friday, describing what he characterized as insurgents pressured by the
troop buildup now fighting back with deadly resolve. "He's ruthless. He's
got a thirst for blood like I've never seen anywhere in my life, and he's
determined to do whatever he can."
North of the capital in Khalis, meanwhile, American forces are investigating
accusations by local residents that a June 22 helicopter airstrike killed 11
civilians. The military initially described the operation as having killed
17 fighters for the insurgent group al-Qaida in Mesopotamia.
Security officials in Khalis said Friday that the men who were killed had
been associated with the Mahdi Army militia and had been called out by local
authorities to help defend a police station against an expected attack by
Sunni fighters. The Mahdi Army has a heavy presence in Khalis, where the
police chief was arrested by American forces three months ago for complicity
with sectarian militias.
The night of the airstrike, the police were told that American forces had
spotted armed men and were going to attack, but the police could not warn
the militiamen in time, the officials said. Eleven men were killed and six
wounded.
The BBC, which reported the American investigation on June 26, said
residents had described the victims as "village guards" who were helping
Iraqi police raid a suspected insurgent hideout. The villagers told the BBC
that the police then received an urgent message that American helicopters
were about to attack, but the village guards were killed before they could
take protective cover or leave.
In a statement, the American military said helicopters "observed a group of
armed men maneuvering in a military like formation," and matching
descriptions of insurgents. American and Iraqi forces had not been told
about, or approved, any watch program in the area, the statement said.
The statement quoted Col. David W. Sutherland, a brigade commander in
Diyala. "I consider the 17 armed men as a militia because they were
conducting an offensive operation in the vicinity of an I.P. operation," he
said, referring to the Iraqi police. "We engaged, protected the I.P.
element, and killed the enemy."
