Posted on 08/02/2005 12:22:15 PM PDT by saquin
BAGHDAD, Aug. 2 -- The military announced Tuesday that six U.S. Marines were killed in action near the city of Haditha in western Iraq Monday.
A seventh died when a suicide car-bomb exploded during combat operations near Hit, south of Haditha, the military said.
The deaths brought to 17 the number of military personnel who have died in the past week, many of them in the same region.
About 60 have been killed during the past month, according to wire service counts.
The announcement Tuesday gave few details of the latest deaths. The military said in its statement that the Marines were killed by small arms fire. Five died in the initial attack, but one Marine was initially missing. His body was found later a few kilometers away, according to the official account.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I thought everything was getting better...
Exactly. Who took him miles away? Sounds like either he was captured before or some scumbag found his body and carried it off for a bounty or such.
Use more air power as indicated at the end of the article. Is it worth using ground forces...?
I heard on the radio that the 6 were part of a sniper team and that their weapons were taken and bodies stripped of military gear. Obvious concern that these precision weapons will be used against our troops now.
mc
Drop MOABS wrapped in pig skin
Knocking off a six man sniper team is not the sign of an insurgency in its "last throes," contrary to the optimistic statements of our VP. (This is in addition to the four man sniper team that was killed about a month ago.)
I didn't see that in the story. Are 6 man teams of Marines generally sniper teams, or did you hear that somewhere else.
I was replying to post 5 above.
6 Marines From Brook Park Reserve Unit Killed In Iraq 29 minutes ago
Six Marines from a northeast Ohio division were killed in Iraq Monday, NewsChannel5 reported.
The Marines were part of the Third Battalion 25th Marine Regiment. That is a reserve unit out of Brook Park. It is located on West 150th Street.
Lt. Col. Kevin Rush said that the Marines were part of a sniper unit who were killed in action near Haditha, 140 miles northwest of Baghdad.
According to the Public Affairs Office at Camp Fallujah, They were engaged by insurgents and killed by small-arms fire. Five Marines were killed in the initial attack; one was unaccounted for and his body later found and safely recovered a few kilometers away.
"It is a sad and somber day. We want to extend our sympathies and condolences to the families. Our thoughts and prayers are with them," Rush said.
Five of the victims are from northeast Ohio. One is from out of the area, Rush said.
Video: Marines From Northeast Ohio Killed
Names of the deceased are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
Family members did say that Sgt. Nathaniel Rock, 26, of Toronto, Ohio, was one of the Marines killed.
Rock joined the Marine Corps after graduating from Toronto High School in 1997.
He was a part-time police officer in Martins Ferry and had been serving in Iraq since March.
Rush said the unit was part of an infantry battalion that conducts missions to disrupt insurgencies and take an offensive stand against terrorists.
There will be an investigation into how they were killed.
"Everybody is holding up strong," he said.
The unit also has companies in Columbus, Akron, Moundsville, W.Va. and Buffalo, N.Y.
A special team will be brought in from New Orleans to offer counseling for families of Marines who are still in Iraq.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/kitv/20050802/lo_wews/2858451&printer=1;_ylt=AuBQcSdKumV2kQN_8jtWlNdBxyYC;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE-
Got it. Thanks.
Unless you have additional details on this story, you may want to withhold judgement on what may have happened here. A single lucky morter round can do a lot of damage, but doesn't mean anything other than someone got lucky.
You're certainly right, and we don't know the details. I'm just frustrated by this. (However, it appears from the article that they were killed by small arms fire, not a lucky mortar round or some other fluke.)
NBC News just had a report about this with more info. They said it was 2 3-man sniper teams. The two teams were on a rooftop when they were suddenly ambushed by an unknown number of assailants. They said other Marines nearby heard a quick burst of gunfire and that it seemed the two teams were ambushed so quickly they didn't have a chance to return fire. The little reenactment graphic they showed indicated the two teams surrounded and ambushed from other rooftops behind them. 5 were killed instantly. The 6th either was able to briefly escape or was captured and his body was found (killed by gunshot) about a mile away.
Speculation is that it was an "inside job" and that they were compromised by Iraqi military infiltrated by insurgents.
VP says insurgency in last throes, then SecDef says it could go on for ten years or more. Maybe someone should introduce those two.
"Speculation is that it was an "inside job" and that they were compromised by Iraqi military infiltrated by insurgents."
That right there, the iraqis that are on 'our side' killing are own will go on for infinity over there.
No, it's not. Too many of our military have been killed and maimed. They are, instead, needed here to protect our borders from the undesirables invading this country.
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NBC is reporting that the Marines suspect they were betrayed by members of the Iraqi military.
Flag, Iraq war news.
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