Four Marines, Three Soldiers Killed in Iraq [CJTF-7 security recap]

Four Marines, Three Soldiers Killed in Iraq

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 6, 2004 -- Four Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed April 5 as a result of enemy action while conducting security and stabilization operations in Iraq's Anbar province, a Combined Joint Task Force 7 news release reported today.

No further information on this incident was available.

Three Task Force 1st Armored Division soldiers were killed during separate attacks April 5 and today in Baghdad's Kadhimiya district, according to another release.

The first soldier died of wounds received during an attack that took place at about 11 a.m. April 5. The soldier was traveling with a southbound convoy when it was attacked with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire.

A second soldier died at about 9:30 p.m. April 5 when an RPG struck his vehicle during a firefight in the same area. An RPG attack at 12:30 a.m. today killed a third soldier, who was in a Bradley fighting vehicle.

The names of the Marines and soldiers are being withheld until their families are notified.

In Tikrit, 1st Infantry Division soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery, conducted a raid near Baqubah early this morning to capture the leader and members of an insurgent cell, another CJTF 7 release said. The soldiers detained 12 individuals, including the leader of the insurgents. They are suspected of conducting attacks against coalition forces using improvised explosive devices, and were taken to a coalition detention facility.

Also in Tikrit, according to CJTF 7 today, Iraqi police got help from Task Force Danger soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 120th Infantry Regiment, in arresting two anti-coalition suspects in Mandeli at about 3:20 a.m. April 5.

The police requested help from the soldiers after armed civilians were reported fighting in the marketplace, the release said. The soldiers provided security for the police officers as they made the arrest. The suspects are in Iraqi police custody.

Five, not four, Marines were killed in action in and around Fallujah.

Per archy:

...one KIA in a exchange of fire in one of the outer neighborhoods of the city while first probing city defenses. At least one Iraqi also killed in that exchange as well.

Our enemy is cruel, and determined.

Our troops are more determined, and far more capable.

We have a long battle ahead.

Over 1600 US Marines and two battalions of Iraqi security forces are operating around Fallujah.

US troops, Iraqi security workers and Coalition allies are fighting in Baghdad, Fallujah, Basra.

Over 135,000 US troops are on the ground in Iraq.

May God continue to protect and strengthen our troops and allies.

TF 1st Armored Division

1st Marine Expeditionary Force

Some Gave All

Potentially worse, per CBS/AP:

Pentagon: 12 Marines Reported Dead

April 6, 2004

Deadly Hunt In Iraq Continues

U.S. Marines take cover during a gun battle with the Iraqi insurgents outskirts of Fallujah, Iraq, Tuesday, April 6, 2004.

(Photo: CBS)

Al-Sadr left his fortress-like complex in Kufa and moved to an office near a sacred shrine in the holy city of Najaf, vowing to shed his own blood to oust the American occupation.

(CBS/AP) Up to a dozen Marines were reported killed in new fighting in Iraq, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

Reports from the field said dozens of Iraqis attacked a Marine position near the governor's palace in Ramadi, a senior defense official said.

"A significant number" of Marines were killed, and initial reports indicate it may be up to a dozen, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

U.S. warplanes firing rockets destroyed four houses in the beseiged city of Fallujah late Tuesday, witnesses said. A doctor said 26 Iraqis, including women and children, were killed and 30 wounded in the strike.

U.S. Marines have been battling Iraqi guerrillas since Monday in a seige aimed at putting down Iraqi guerrillas in Fallujah, one of their main strongholds.

The rockets destroyed the houses in two neighborhoods in the city after nightfall Tuesday, the witnesses said.

Rafie al-Issawi, a doctor at Fallujah General Hospital, said the hospital received the bodies of 26 dead along with 30 wounded soon after. He said their wounds suggested they had been in the destroyed houses.

The deaths bring the total death toll among Iraqis in Fallujah on Tuesday to 34, including eight during heavy street fighting during the day.

-more-

Al-Sadr left his fortress-like complex in Kufa and moved to an office near a sacred shrine in the holy city of Najaf, vowing to shed his own blood to oust the American occupation.

(Don't know how to be helpful here. Our free press is not on our side. They are not going to enjoy serving this master if they succeed in getting their way.)

8 U.S. Forces Conducting Raids in Fallujah ~ update from the fighting at Ar Ramadi: at least 12 brave Marines KIA, 20 wounded. Many enemies captured and killed. ~ DoD | 4/06/04

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