skunk
May 31, 2004, 04:27 AM
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/05/31/iraq.main/index.html
U.S. forces battle al-Sadr militia
Two U.S. soldiers killed
Monday, May 31, 2004 Posted: 3:27 AM EDT (0727 GMT)
KUFA, Iraq (CNN) -- Despite a three-day truce, a firefight erupted in Kufa when U.S. troops on a reconnaissance mission clashed with insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the U.S. forces' commanding officer said.
Two American soldiers died in the fighting Sunday evening, a U.S. military spokesman said.
Lt. Col. Pat White said 100 U.S. soldiers had entered the city on Sunday to determine how many members of al-Sadr's Mehdi militia were there and where they were hiding, according to CNN Correspondent Guy Raz, who is imbedded with the 237 Armored Battalion.
White said about 45 insurgents were killed.
The unit also searched a police station suspected of being a staging ground for militants attacking the U.S. military camp near the city.
White said they found nothing to indicate the site was being used by insurgents, but determined insurgents were hiding near the mosque and a nearby cemetery.
When the troops entered the city, they were met with grenade and small arms fire, and one tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, White said. The battle lasted for just over an hour.
After the attack, the U.S. troops retreated to their home base, Raz reported.
One soldier was killed when his patrol was ambushed with small arms fire and another soldier died when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his tank during a patrol, CPIC said.
Al-Sadr called the truce Thursday, but it had been broken by sporadic fighting since then. Earlier, U.S. troops told Raz it was the first time they had carried out an offensive operation in the area since the truce was declared.
During Sunday's operation, U.S. soldiers fired several dozen tank rounds and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Am I missing something here? 100 US soldiers with tanks carry out a three-pronged "reconnaissance mission" in a civilian area? 45 "insurgents" killed? This is a truce?
How do we know they were "insurgents"? How does the US Army know? Did they see them holding a "wedding"? Do they call them "insurgents" because they assume most people don't know what an "insurgent" is? They probably assume - and probably rightly - that most people just hear the "in-" bit and think it means these people are "surging in" from outside, from other countries.
U.S. forces battle al-Sadr militia
Two U.S. soldiers killed
Monday, May 31, 2004 Posted: 3:27 AM EDT (0727 GMT)
KUFA, Iraq (CNN) -- Despite a three-day truce, a firefight erupted in Kufa when U.S. troops on a reconnaissance mission clashed with insurgents loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the U.S. forces' commanding officer said.
Two American soldiers died in the fighting Sunday evening, a U.S. military spokesman said.
Lt. Col. Pat White said 100 U.S. soldiers had entered the city on Sunday to determine how many members of al-Sadr's Mehdi militia were there and where they were hiding, according to CNN Correspondent Guy Raz, who is imbedded with the 237 Armored Battalion.
White said about 45 insurgents were killed.
The unit also searched a police station suspected of being a staging ground for militants attacking the U.S. military camp near the city.
White said they found nothing to indicate the site was being used by insurgents, but determined insurgents were hiding near the mosque and a nearby cemetery.
When the troops entered the city, they were met with grenade and small arms fire, and one tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, White said. The battle lasted for just over an hour.
After the attack, the U.S. troops retreated to their home base, Raz reported.
One soldier was killed when his patrol was ambushed with small arms fire and another soldier died when a rocket-propelled grenade hit his tank during a patrol, CPIC said.
Al-Sadr called the truce Thursday, but it had been broken by sporadic fighting since then. Earlier, U.S. troops told Raz it was the first time they had carried out an offensive operation in the area since the truce was declared.
During Sunday's operation, U.S. soldiers fired several dozen tank rounds and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
Am I missing something here? 100 US soldiers with tanks carry out a three-pronged "reconnaissance mission" in a civilian area? 45 "insurgents" killed? This is a truce?
How do we know they were "insurgents"? How does the US Army know? Did they see them holding a "wedding"? Do they call them "insurgents" because they assume most people don't know what an "insurgent" is? They probably assume - and probably rightly - that most people just hear the "in-" bit and think it means these people are "surging in" from outside, from other countries.
