Posted on 10/29/2003 3:06:38 AM PST by konijn
Two GIs Killed When Tank Attacked in Iraq
Wednesday October 29, 2003 10:46 AM
By SLOBODAN LEKIC
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Two American soldiers were killed when their Abrams battle tank was damaged by resistance fighters, and seven Ukrainian troops were wounded in the first ambush of a multinational unit in the Polish sector south of Baghdad, coalition officials said Wednesday.
The tank was disabled when it was struck by a land mine or a roadside bomb Tuesday night during a patrol near Balad, 45 miles north of Baghdad, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division. A third crewman was evacuated to a U.S. hospital in Germany, she said.
It was believed to be the first M1 Abrams main battle tank destroyed since the end of major combat May 1. During the active combat phase, several of the 68-ton vehicles - the mainstay of the U.S. Army's armored forces - were disabled in combat.
The latest attacks, including a nighttime mortar barrage in Baghdad, followed a day of violence in which insurgents targeted American forces and Iraqis who work with the occupation authorities. U.S. officials also announced that Baghdad's Deputy Mayor Faris Abdul Razzaq al-Assam was killed Sunday in a drive-by shooting.
The proliferation of attacks on Iraqis allied with the occupation bodes ill for attempts by the U.S.-led authorities to persuade more Iraqis to join in administering the country and play a greater role in providing security. Resistance forces have targeted several prominent figures, including Aquila al-Hashimi, a member of the Governing Council, who was fatally shot Sept. 20.
A spokesman for the multinational division at Camp Babylon said the attack on the Ukrainians occurred when two of their armored personnel carriers rolled over land mines near Suwayrah about 40 miles southeast of Baghdad.
After the vehicles were disabled, unidentified gunmen opened fire on the disembarked soldiers, the spokesman said on condition of anonymity.
About 1,650 Ukrainians are serving in the Polish-led stabilization force patrolling central and southern Iraq.
In Baghdad, half a dozen mortar rounds exploded late Tuesday in an upscale Jadriya neighborhood across the Tigris River from the U.S.-led coalition headquarters but caused no damage or casualties, the U.S. military said Wednesday.
One landed in a field close to a palace once occupied by one of Saddam Hussein's daughters, now a headquarters for the U.S. civil-military affairs command. Another struck Baghdad University's College of Physical Education, damaging the wall of an enclosed volleyball court. There were no casualties in the shelling.
In Tikrit, Saddam's hometown, insurgents fired late Tuesday on the south gate at the main U.S. military base there. At least one American soldier from the 4th Infantry Division was wounded, witnesses said. A patrol was sent out to search for the assailants, who fled after firing on the troops from a nearby rooftop.
And a U.S. military convoy was attacked Tuesday night by small arms fire in the northern city of Mosul, the military said. There were no casualties.
Rockets were fired Tuesday night at a U.S. military compound in the oil center of Kirkuk, according to Saleh Sabah, a member of the Iraqi National Accord which has offices near the compound.
Sabah said the U.S. troops returned fire with mortars and blocked all roads leading to their garrison.
In Fallujah, a flashpoint Sunni Muslim city 40 miles west of Baghdad, a car exploded Tuesday afternoon on a major street, killing at least four people. The explosion occurred about 330 feet from a police station and 100 feet from a school, but the target was unclear.
Resistance Fighters??? Words fail me!
"?Something? felled an M1A1 Abrams tank in Iraq ? but what?"
Well, that's exactly what an anti-tank mine does.
?
To know that, the AP news people must have information such that the AP knows who are these "resistance fighters."
The Iraqis who are resisting Saddam's and fascist Islam's grip upon Iraq and are struggling to free their country from terrorism, should promptly demand the surrender of the "resistance fighters"information that the AP claims to have.
Just so. And the difference is a matter of some small concern to the Abrams crew who've had a hole shot through their tank, and nobody seems to know yet what weapon managed that good trick. Kindly feel free to join us on the following thread where the incident is under discussion. All good ideas and working theories are being considered, and welcome.
I just hope it ain't termites....
An M1A1 Abrams tank with the 1st Armored Division was hit by enemy fire in Baghdad at 5:20 a.m. on Aug. 28. The paper in the photo covers the hole.
The hole in the M1A1 Abrams tank is marked by a circle in the above photo, showing the damage behind the skirt.
A close-up of the mysterious rounds point of entry.
The round penetrated the turret well to reach the inside of the tank.
The round passed through a nuclear, biological, chemical hose inside the tank behind the gunners seat and bent the basket
The projectile then tore a hole in the gunners seat.
The round pierced the left kidney area of the gunners flak jacket. According to the damage report, The gunner said it felt like someone hit him in the back with a hammer.
The round then crossed under the breech and hit the safety guard, the report said. The photo shows the entry side of the safety guard.
The round then exited the safety guard.
Next, the projectile slammed into the turret networks box.
The round then pierced the breaker panel on the tank.
The mysterious projectile finally buried itself in the hull of the M1A1 Abrams tank on the opposite side from where it entered. The hole is 1½ to 2 inches deep.
-archy-/-
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
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