Good morning, Mayor. Any snow yet where you are? Dreary and rainy here.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 12, 2004 -- Three U.S. servicemembers were killed over the
weekend as Iraqi and coalition forces battled against continued attacks in
Iraq.
Military officials in Baghdad reported that a Task Force Baghdad soldier died
from wounds sustained following an improvised-explosive-device attack on a
patrol in northern Baghdad Dec. 11.
The soldier was evacuated to a medical facility and died later. Three other
soldiers were wounded and returned to duty.
Also, two Marines with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force have been killed
while conducting security operations in Anbar province. One Marine was killed
today, the other Dec. 11. For security reasons, the Marines provided no further
information about the attacks.
The deaths followed a weekend of repeated attacks by insurgents on Iraqi and
coalition forces.
In Mosul, Iraqi security and coalition forces repelled two separate attacks, in
which insurgents attempted to seize a police station and ambush a coalition
convoy on Dec. 11.
During the ambush, approximately 20 insurgents opened fire using rocket-
propelled grenades and small arms. Military officials reported 10 insurgents
were killed.
The ambush happened near an area where U.S. soldiers were destroying a large
weapons cache containing several roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades and
ammunition.
In a separate incident, the military reported that Iraqi police successfully
repelled an attack by insurgents on a police academy in southern Mosul. And in
southeast Mosul, six people suspected of planning and conducting attacks
against Iraqi civilians working with the coalition were detained.
In other news, insurgents used mortars and rocket-propelled grenades to attack
Iraqi National Guard troops in central Baghdad today. No casualties were
reported.
Following the attack, a Task Force Baghdad patrol discovered two recoilless
rifles and two 155 mm artillery rounds outside a nearby mosque.
In Tikrit, 1st Infantry Division soldiers conducted "deliberate operations"
against anti-Iraqi forces in the Baqubah area on Dec. 11, military officials
reported.
Officials said that more than 50 individuals were arrested during "Operation
Centaur Backbreaker III Zeus."
Two other operations in the region led to five individuals detained and several
weapons confiscated.
The snow is working it's way toward us, ski country in the south will get 12+ inches today.
It's cold and starting to snow, this weekend we had a wet mix, it makes it hard to do siding on a house..