Three U.S. Troops Killed in Iraq (Pummeled them with Concrete Rocks!)

Yahoo ^ | 11/23/03

[areafiftyone]

MOSUL, Iraq - Iraqi teenagers dragged the bloody bodies of two American soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday, witnesses said, describing a burst of savagery in a city once safe for Americans. Another soldier was killed by a bomb and a U.S.-allied police chief was assassinated.

The U.S.-led coalition also said it grounded commercial flights after the military confirmed that a missile struck a DHL cargo plane that landed Saturday at Baghdad International Airport with its wing aflame.

Nevertheless, American officers insisted they were making progress in bringing stability to Iraq (news - web sites), and the U.S.-appointed Governing Council named an ambassador to Washington — an Iraqi-American woman who spent the last decade lobbying U.S. lawmakers to promote democracy in her homeland.

Witnesses to the Mosul attack said gunmen shot two soldiers driving through the city center, sending their vehicle crashing into a wall. The 101st Airborne Division said the soldiers were driving to another garrison.

About a dozen swarming teenagers dragged the soldiers' bodies out of the wreckage and beat them with concrete blocks, the witnesses said.

"They lifted a block and hit them with it on the face," Younis Mahmoud, 19, said.

Another teenager, Bahaa Jassim, said some looted the vehicle of weapons, CDs and a backpack.

"They remained there for over an hour without the Americans knowing anything about it," he said. "I ... went and told other troops."

Television video showed the soldiers' bodies splayed on the ground as U.S. troops secured the area. One victim's foot appeared to have been severed.

The frenzy recalled the October 1993 scene in Somalia, when locals dragged the bodies of Marines killed in fighting with warlords through the streets.

In Baqouba, just north of Baghdad, insurgents detonated a roadside bomb as a 4th Infantry Division convoy passed, killing one soldier and wounding two others, the military said.

In Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt confirmed the Mosul deaths but refused to provide details.

"We're not going to get ghoulish about it," he said.

The savagery of the attack was unusual for Mosul, once touted as a success story in sharp contrast to the anti-American violence seen in Sunni Muslim areas north and west of Baghdad.

In recent weeks, however, attacks against U.S. troops have increased in Mosul, raising concerns the insurgency is spreading.

Simultaneously, attacks have accelerated against Iraqis considered to be supporting Americans — such as policemen and politicians working for the interim Iraqi administration.

On Sunday, gunmen killed the Iraqi police chief of Latifiyah, 20 miles south of Baghdad, and his bodyguard and driver, American and Iraqi officials said. No further details were released.

The assassination occurred one day after suicide bombers struck two police stations northeast of Baghdad within 30 minutes, killing at least 14 people. Gunmen on Saturday also killed an Iraqi police colonel protecting oil installations in Mosul.

Elsewhere, Iraqi police said six U.S. Apache helicopter gunships blasted marshland after insurgents fired four rocket-propelled grenades at the American military garrison at the city's northern end. One Iraqi passer-by was killed in the air attack, police said.

In Kirkuk, 150 miles north of Baghdad, a bomb exploded at an oil compound, injuring three American civilian contractors from the U.S. firm Kellogg Brown & Root. The three suffered facial cuts from flying glass, U.S. Lt. Col. Matt Croke said.

KBR, a subsidiary of Halliburton, also has a significant presence at Baghdad's Palestine Hotel, which was rocketed by insurgents Friday, wounding one civilian.

"We all know that Americans are being threatened," Croke said.

Kimmitt told reporters in Baghdad that witnesses saw two surface-to-air missiles fired Saturday at a cargo plane operated by the Belgium-based package service DHL as it left for Bahrain.

The plane was the first civilian airliner hit by insurgents, who have shot down several military helicopters with shoulder-fired rockets.

DHL and Royal Jordanian, the only commercial passenger airline flying into Baghdad, immediately suspended flights on orders of the coalition authority.

Despite the ongoing violence, U.S. officials insisted the occupation was going well.

"If you look at the accomplishments of the coalition since March of this year, it has been enormous," Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Tikrit.

Pace is touring Afghanistan (news - web sites) and Iraq.

Also Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said veteran Washington lobbyist Rend Rahim Francke was appointed Iraq's ambassador to the United States. Francke, an Iraq native who has spent most of her life abroad, led the Iraq Foundation, a Washington-based pro-democracy group, and has helped plan Iraq's transition from Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s rule.

The appointment will renew the diplomatic ties between Washington and Baghdad severed in 1990 when Saddam invaded Kuwait.

[Squantos]

Damn this trash to hell....

[ItsForTheChildren]

Paging Col. West!

[Dog]

Hello.....go up the thread and look at post 37.....there is a father of a member of someone in the 101st on this thread..........he looks at that photo and wonders if he will get the call.

Nice thing for him to see huh?

[LoudRepublicangirl]

Does anyone know if these soldiers were with the 101st Airborne, 502nd reg? My brother is with them? I am sick that this has happened. It is closing what open mind I had left about Arabs. They ARE savages!

[don-o]

If you feel I have made a mistake in posting these pictures on the forum, please remove them.

Nope.

Not a mistake, imo. We need to be confronted with the reality. Were it my boy dead on the ground of that God damned country, I would want the whole world to see the truth.

[Mo1]

I haven't heard any news yet

Sending prayers that your brother is fine and safe

[Wiggins]

Your not a goofy crank, but we cannot survive by withdrawing into our own borders and becoming total isolationists. History would be proof that we can't survive that way. One example would be that if we didin't fight the Nazi's in WWII, it wouldn't of been long before long range missiles from a fallen Europe or Germany itself would have started reaching American cities. Sure we could protect our borders better than we are doing it today, but we can never totaly secure this nation through isolation. I am affraid that if we adopted your strategy, we would soon be fighting this battle in New York, Washington or anywhere else in the U.S.A.

[boxerblues]

I have a problem with Drudge posting these! I dont want to see my sons face on some sh#t@ss webpage before we know what happened.

[Cobra64]

Enough is enough. Maybe the sick son-of-a-bitch Saddam was on the right track. If I'd seen this, I'd have shoved a KaBar up their fricken asses, kissed my wedding ring, and twisted the handle! Round two would have the mess personnel bring over jars of honey and sugar and doused these savages. Let nature "bury 'em." /rant

[Bobby777]

Iraqi teenagers dragged the bloody bodies of two American soldiers from a wrecked vehicle and pummeled them with concrete blocks Sunday

they learned this tactic from the Palis that grabbed the Israeli soldiers and threw their bodies out the window of the police station in Ramallah ...

[pfflier]

Its been brought up before, These weenies always do something on Saturday or Sunday so we can watch it on the news over and over again. They commit these atrocities then run home to tune in CNN to watch the handwringing. They are betting we are all demoncrats and don't have the guts to sustain losses.

[4integrity]

Miz, I know EXACTLY how you feel. Part of me says, take the women and children out of the town and then flatten the place. We're there helping them and they do this to our young people. If there are any good people in these areas, there is no excuse for them not to take a stand for doing the right thing. If our young men and women can risk their lives, these people should be willing to do the same for their own country. AND, the Dept of Defense better take heed before prosecuting Col. Allen West. Hope everyone has or will call the DOD or the White House to support this man who did what needed to be done to protect our troops. God bless our military men and women and their families.

[Cobra64]

Enough is enough. Maybe the sick son-of-a-bitch Saddam was on the right track. If I'd seen this, I'd have shoved a KaBar up their fricken asses, kissed my wedding ring, and twisted the handle! Round two would have the mess personnel bring over jars of honey and sugar and doused these savages. Let nature "bury 'em." /rant

[W04Man]

Ditto!

http://W-04.com

[jonsie]

I too have a son serving as an Army combat medic in Iraq. He is with the 1st Cav serving with the 82nd. Ryan is my youngest son. I have two other children who served in the Marines and AirForce. My husband and I both served in Korea (Seoul) from 1973-1976. We are also worried for our son. There are so many people who are supporting our son and our military effort over there, especially the Freepers. That is what keeps my sanity as I go about my job and daily business. I trust that we will prevail and that our great military will root out the evil that is in Iraq. As for the PC crowd, they are losing. America understands that this is fight between good and evil and we will win. I love my son as I know you love yours and I am waiting for the day he returns. Godspeed for you and yours.

[pickemuphere]

This should put to rest the idea that "outsiders" are indeed the ones causing problems in Iraq. The Iraqis themselves hate us; the sooner we realize this the better.

[huck von finn]

Hey, I didn't post it.

[Let's Roll]

We MUST make the rational Iraqis afraid to harm our servicemen. Retaliation must be swift and merciless.

[JamesA]

It is scary for sure but Kyle(my son) wants to be there with his military family. Wife and I are scared but I also know he can protect himself pretty darn good and his fellow GI's are equally capable. I hate seeing this crap but I suppose the news media will say "Its our right" and "The public needs to know." I am absolutely frustrated by our military being hidered by our politicians (same as Vietnam). We must be smarter, meaner and a hell of a lot more agressive, to the point where a bad guy pee's his pants at just the thought of doing injury to an American. We cannot afford to climb into a pitty pot at this point stand together, stand strong and don't back down. WE MUST WIN THIS BATTLE AND THOSE BATTLES THAT LAY AHEAD, NO OPTIONS. A humble father, thank you.

[cgk]

My prayers and pride are with both of your sons. Please understand I mean no disrespect in the posting of the photos.

I am proud of them, and as non-military would salute them if I could. All I can do is say "Never forget, and Never Stop Fighting for Freedom."

God Bless.