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Troops Died After, Not In, Sneak Attack ~ Karbala Attack ~ Soldiers abducted then killed.....
Las Vegas Sun ^
| January 26, 2007 at 7:25:14 PST
| STEVEN R. HURST and QASSIM ABDUL-ZHARA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted on 01/26/2007 7:41:43 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Contrary to U.S. military statements, four U.S. soldiers did not die repelling a sneak attack at the governor's office in the Shiite holy city of Karbala last week. New information obtained by The Associated Press shows they were abducted and found dead or dying as far as 25 miles away.
The brazen assault 50 miles south of Baghdad was launched Jan. 20 by a group of nine to 12 militants. They traveled in black GMC Suburban vehicles - the type used by U.S. government convoys, had American weapons, wore new U.S. military combat fatigues and spoke English.
In a written statement, the U.S. command reported at the time that five soldiers were killed while "repelling the attack." Two senior U.S. military officials as well as Iraqi officials now say three of them were found dead and one mortally wounded in locations as far as 25 miles east of the governor's office.
The U.S. officials said they could not be sure if the soldiers were killed as the attackers drove them to the place where they abandoned the Suburbans or afterward. Iraqi officials said the men were killed just before the vehicles were abandoned.
The daring commando team also took an unclassified U.S. computer with them as they fled with the four soldiers and left behind an American M-4 automatic rifle, senior U.S. military officials said.
For more than a week, the U.S. military in Baghdad declined comment on reports that began emerging from Iraqi government and military officials which suggested a major breakdown in security surrounding U.S. forces in Karbala.
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TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; karbala; karbalaattack; karbalattack; kerbalaattack; qassimabdulzhara; stevenrhurst
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21
posted on
01/26/2007 7:54:28 AM PST
by
tazman3
To: boxerblues
Prayers for your son and the soldiers of the the 377th PFAR. ~~Pandora~~
22
posted on
01/26/2007 7:54:36 AM PST
by
pandoraou812
( zero tolerance to the will of Allah and dilligaf?)
To: MNJohnnie
23
posted on
01/26/2007 7:55:12 AM PST
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
To: boxerblues
"...there is a lot more to this story than any MSM will ever have the gonads to report."What are your thoughts?
24
posted on
01/26/2007 7:55:20 AM PST
by
DCPatriot
("It aint what you don't know that kills you. It's what you know that aint so" Theodore Sturgeon))
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach; All
Thanks for posting. Thanks to all contributors to this tread. BUMP-TO-THE-TOP!
25
posted on
01/26/2007 7:56:26 AM PST
by
PGalt
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
No Iraqi soldiers, policemen or officials were hurt in the attack. The attackers knew about the timing and location of the meeting and they were certainly not al-Qaeda fighters or Sunni insurgents. I mean why would al-Qaeda or Sunni insurgents risk making the very dangerous trip to the heart of Kerbala to kill American soldiers while they couldve inflicted more casualties by planting a few IEDs in the streets of places they control? Plus, they wouldnt have spared the lives of the Iraqis in the building.
If I remember well, some time ago the head of the provincial council was arrested under charges of terrorism, so the local authority in Kerbala isnt exactly trustworthy. The governor said there was a security breach but what I smell here is the stench of an inside job at the highest levels in Kerbala.
Like I said earlier, this was not just a brazen attack by some militia or terrorists; behind this is a message and a threat from Iran and its surrogates to turn even the calm parts of Iraq into a dangerous war zone for America and the government in Baghdad
From what I know but cannot say right now is this blogger has nailed it.
To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
This kind of thing really could happen more often. Military uniforms are available on the internet. M16/M4 knockoffs aren't hard to come by. Learning a few key phrases in English can be done to perfection in a few days of practice. The only expensive part of the plan would be obtaining the right vehicles, and even that's very possible when you have Iranian or Saudi money in your pocket. As for the inside knowledge, well, Iraqis are in pretty tight with us these days. Just because they work with us doesn't mean they like us.
Our enemies aren't stupid. All they need is are resources, a little time and little luck to pull off hits like this.
27
posted on
01/26/2007 7:59:35 AM PST
by
Steel Wolf
(As Ibn Warraq said, "There are moderate Muslims but there is no moderate Islam.")
To: mystery-ak; SE Mom; pandoraou812
Thanks I do appreciate all the prayers. Prayers & FR has been the only thing that has gotten me though 3 deployments
To: DCPatriot
I've read reports that American troops that have been abducted are usually found tortured to death. The US Gov. and the media conceal this fact from the US public. I guess the government feels they're protecting our tender feelings.
29
posted on
01/26/2007 8:01:14 AM PST
by
StormEye
To: StormEye
It makes me want the military to be cut loose to do their jobs. Let them take off the gloves with the cold blooded killers and clean out Iraq for good.
30
posted on
01/26/2007 8:03:17 AM PST
by
tioga
To: boxerblues
Like I said earlier, this was not just a brazen attack by some militia or terrorists; behind this is a message and a threat from Iran and its surrogates to turn even the calm parts of Iraq into a dangerous war zone for America and the government in Baghdad It's a veiled threat, and a very credible one. If anyone thinks that this threat doesn't throw cold water on any planned attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, think again. They can turn Iraq into a mid 80's Lebanon in no time.
This is simply their way of saying that we can reach out and touch you whenever we want.
31
posted on
01/26/2007 8:04:31 AM PST
by
Steel Wolf
(As Ibn Warraq said, "There are moderate Muslims but there is no moderate Islam.")
To: Steel Wolf
This is simply their way of saying that we can reach out and touch you whenever we want.
We can reach out and touch Iran as well. How many carrier groups are in the region or are heading there?
To: Steel Wolf
Have you heard the details of this particular fight?
33
posted on
01/26/2007 8:16:45 AM PST
by
Future Snake Eater
(Mosul, Baghdad, Karbala...'round and 'round we go...)
To: tioga
"It makes me want the military to be cut loose to do their jobs."
Thats exactly what has happened to the battle plan. There is so much fear of an alleged "massacre" or AbuGraib "torture" that our troops have to hesitate before acting. And hesitation is what kills many soldiers.
If those soldiers were dismembered or tortured before they were killed, it has to be disclosed as reinforcement to the mission. of course, the hysterical left will point it out as another reason to cut and run.
To: Steel Wolf
Our enemies aren't stupid. They certainly aren't.
But under the old ROE we often were. Hopefully, these have changed to permit taking all these bastards down, hard! If we don't, we'll sadly regret it.
... and we shouldn't limit ourselves to operating inside the Iraqi borders, either.
35
posted on
01/26/2007 8:19:44 AM PST
by
Gritty
(The entire discussion of this war is surreal. Who are we fighting? Where is our Churchill?-JPMulhern)
To: boxerblues
We just send another one in the last month.....this is no civil War.
Iran is running a clandestine take over war from Lebanon thru Syria and Iraq.
36
posted on
01/26/2007 8:20:00 AM PST
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
To: Gritty
Our Senators are having a serious discussion about that as we speak.....snort...../s
37
posted on
01/26/2007 8:21:33 AM PST
by
Ernest_at_the_Beach
(The DemonicRATS believe ....that the best decisions are always made after the fact.)
To: darkwing104
This has the look of a Iranian Special Ops event.
38
posted on
01/26/2007 8:22:15 AM PST
by
Bombard
To: dynoman
Right now, I'm thinking I agree with you. This is beyond horrible.
39
posted on
01/26/2007 8:23:46 AM PST
by
fishergirl
(Proud mom of an Iraq war veteran - to all our veterans Thank You and God Bless)
To: tioga
Amen to that. Now is not the time for tenderhearted forbearance.
Colonel, USAFR
40
posted on
01/26/2007 8:24:02 AM PST
by
jagusafr
(The proof that we are rightly related to God is that we do our best whether we feel inspired or not")
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