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

[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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[tazman3]

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[pandoraou812]

Prayers for your son and the soldiers of the the 377th PFAR. ~~Pandora~~

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

See #19.

[DCPatriot]

"...there is a lot more to this story than any MSM will ever have the gonads to report."

What are your thoughts?

[PGalt]

Thanks for posting. Thanks to all contributors to this tread. BUMP-TO-THE-TOP!

[boxerblues]

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 could’ve inflicted more casualties by planting a few IED’s in the streets of places they control? Plus, they wouldn’t 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 isn’t 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.

[Steel Wolf]

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.

[boxerblues]

Thanks I do appreciate all the prayers. Prayers & FR has been the only thing that has gotten me though 3 deployments

[StormEye]

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.

[tioga]

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.

[Steel Wolf]

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.

[boxerblues]

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?

[Future Snake Eater]

Have you heard the details of this particular fight?

[o_zarkman44]

"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.

[Gritty]

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.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

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.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Our Senators are having a serious discussion about that as we speak.....snort...../s

[Bombard]

This has the look of a Iranian Special Ops event.

[fishergirl]

Right now, I'm thinking I agree with you. This is beyond horrible.

[jagusafr]

Amen to that. Now is not the time for tenderhearted forbearance.

Colonel, USAFR