[sure_fine]

Officials said all the dead were insurgents, though witnesses said at least 39 were civilians.





damn those wedding parties

[Pro-Bush]

bttt

[injin]

"On Sunday, a group of around two dozen Iraqis gathered around the wreckage of the U.S. vehicle and were hit by the airstrikes"

great news! I have been waiting to hear that we waste a bunch of those nasty vultures that dance around our destroyed vehicles , esp where lives were lost.
I hope this becomes SOP

[ryan71]

"A tribal leader, Chiad Saad, said the airstrike hit the crowd, killing 25 people civilians. Several witnesses corroborated his version, though they refused to give their names out of fear for their safety."

Terrorists.

It's all good.

[MEG33]

Pay back time..

[SIDENET]

Get some.

[Deetes]

pinger......

[MNJohnnie]

Officials said all the dead were insurgents, though witnesses said at least 39 were civilians.

Well I see the Arab Broadcast Collaborators (ABC) are still busy spreading their idol's propaganda. IF they go dance over the bodies of our dead, they are NOT civilians anymore but part of the "insurgency".

[mainepatsfan]

"...and apparently passed a landmark constitution that many Sunnis opposed."

Many did but unfortunately for the MSM not enough to derail it.

[Jet Jaguar]

Good job.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

U.S. helicopters and warplanes bombed two villages near the restive city of Ramadi

Right out of the box, ABC is conjuring up images of American warplanes bombing villagers gathering water for the day and cooking rice and beans for breakfast.

...witnesses said at least 39 were civilians.

The terrorists are civilians by definition. If they're not wearing a national military uniform, they're civilians. If ABC didn't straight-up fabricate the witnesses that they're quoting, they probably quoted the one or two Baathists that they could find who are upset about the bombing. The Iraqi civilians want these people gone, that's whey they're turning in tips as fast as the US and Iraqi military can take them.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Okay, we got the lame-assed ABC version of events. Here's what really happened:

NEWS RELEASE
HEADQUARTERS UNITED STATES CENTRAL COMMAND
7115 South Boundary Boulevard
MacDill AFB, Fla. 33621-5101
Phone: (813) 827-5894; FAX: (813) 827-2211; DSN 651-5894

---

October 17, 2005
Release Number: 05-10-57

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AN ESTIMATED 70 TERRORISTS KILLED NEAR RAMADI

CAMP BLUE DIAMOND, AR RAMADI, Iraq -- Coalition forces continued counter-terrorism operations in areas of Al Anbar Province Oct. 16, killing an estimated 70 terrorists in separate actions.

At approximately 1:25 p.m., Coalition forces conducted an air strike against a group of terrorists attempting to emplace an improvised explosive device east of Ramadi.

While conducting a combat air patrol, crewmembers from an F -15 observed 20 men arrive in four vehicles at the crater site of a previously-detonated IED which had killed five U.S. and two Iraqi Soldiers on Oct. 15. The terrorists were in the process of emplacing another IED in the same spot when the F- 15 engaged them with a precision-guided bomb, resulting in the death of terrorists on the ground.

At approximately 7:30 p.m., a UH-1N Huey and AH-1W Cobra helicopter team on patrol north of Ramadi had been observing a group of military age males gathered at a suspected terrorist safe house. After realizing their position had been compromised, the terrorists fled the scene and engaged the Cobra with small arms fire. The Cobra returned fire with 20 mm. munitions, resulting in the death of an estimated 10 terrorists. At approximately 7:50 p.m., a team of F/A-18’s resumed observation at the suspected safe house where they found an additional 35-40 terrorists loading their vehicles with weapons and driving to another location to unload the weapons. The F/A-18 targeted the terrorists with a precision-guided bomb, killing terrorists on the ground. The combined strikes resulted in approximately 50 terrorists killed.

The strikes took place in the Abu Faraj region, north of Ramadi, where a large number of indirect fire and IED attacks against civilians, Iraqi infrastructure, Iraqi security forces and Coalition forces have originated.

At approximately 8:00 p.m., Coalition forces guarding the Government Center in Ramadi were attacked by a small-arms fire attack from multiple locations within an adjacent building. After requesting air support to neutralize the increasing volume of fire, an F/A-18 engaged the target with a maverick missile at approximately 8:50 p.m. When the small arms fire continued, Coalition forces engaged the targets with two shoulder mounted multipurpose assault weapons (SMAWs), resulting in the cessation of all movement from within the structure. An estimated 1-3 terrorists were killed in the strike.

All the attacks were timed and executed in a manner to reduce the possibility of collateral damage. There were no reports of Coalition or civilian casualties.

The attacks follow a successful Referendum in which there were no major disruptions caused by terrorists at the polls in Al Anbar Province. Coalition forces continue to aggressively pursue terrorists whose aim is to kill Iraqi civilians and Coalition forces in an attempt to disrupt the political process.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT THE 2D MARINE DIVISION PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER AT KerrPB@gcemnf-wiraq.usmc.mil

-30-

Link here: AN ESTIMATED 70 TERRORISTS KILLED NEAR RAMADI

[angkor]

The messages here are "don't hang out with terrorists" and "stay clear of disabled American hardware."

[MrBambaLaMamba]

... killing around 70 militants ...

Regardless of what the MSM calls them, they're still dead and that is a good thing.

[RoadTest]

"a group of around two dozen Iraqis gathered around the wreckage of the U.S. vehicle and were hit by the airstrikes"

It looks like we've learned something from them. Good!

And if civilians get killed, it's because the army we're fighting hides among them. It's a tough call to kill them as collateral damage, but the alternative is worse: losing the war.

[Fresh Wind]

Sorry to break it to you, ABC, but most of the insurgents ARE civilians.

[jveritas]

Great news.

[Always Right]

U.S. helicopters and warplanes bombed two villages near the restive city of Ramadi, killing around 70 militants, the military said Monday. Officials said all the dead were insurgents, though witnesses said at least 39 were civilians.

The difference between these Civilians and insurgents is that these Civilians hadn't strapped bombs to their backs yet.

[jveritas]

In order to really STFU of the defeated liberal media, the Pentagon should change the policy and start releasing footage of us killing the enemy. It will be a great tool to STFU the hateful media and put more fear in the heart of the terrorists.

[Blood of Tyrants]

From the Fox News website:

The military said in a statement that the crowd was setting another roadside bomb when F-15 warplanes hit them, killing around 20 people, described by the military as "terrorists."

But several witnesses and one local leader said they were civilians who had gathered to gawk at and take pieces of the wreckage, as often occurs after an American vehicle is hit.

Probably gathered around to celebrate and dance. THIS is what we should have been doing for the past 2 1/2 years.