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5 US soldiers die in Baghdad bomb blast
Reuters ^

Posted on 03/10/2008 8:48:01 AM PDT by maquiladora

Five US soldiers were killed and three others wounded in a bomb blast in central Baghdad on Monday, the US Military said, in the worst single attack on US forces in Baghdad in months.

An Iraqi interpreter was also wounded in the explosion, which hit the soldiers while they were on foot patrol, the military said in a statement. (Reuters)


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: 3rdid; allareheroes; fallen; iraq; mohammedanism; soldiers
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1 posted on 03/10/2008 8:48:02 AM PDT by maquiladora
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To: maquiladora

Prayers from the families and those who live on their block.


2 posted on 03/10/2008 8:48:52 AM PDT by armymarinemom (My sons freed Iraqi and Afghan Honor Roll students.)
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To: maquiladora

Damn. Made it just about a month and only one guy had died til now.


3 posted on 03/10/2008 8:48:58 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: maquiladora

If the explosive device came from Iran then Iran should start paying a price.


4 posted on 03/10/2008 8:52:29 AM PDT by maquiladora
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To: maquiladora

Damn. here’s a little bit more info...

5 US Soldiers Killed in Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AP) — Five American soldiers on a foot patrol were killed Monday in an apparent suicide bomb attack in central Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

Four of the soldiers died at the scene and the fifth died later from wounds, the military said in a statement. The blast also wounded three U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter, the military said.

The statement said the soldiers were killed “when their dismounted patrol was struck by an explosion” and “initial reports indicated the explosive device was a suicide vest.”

The name of the soldiers were being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

It was the deadliest attack since Jan. 28, when five U.S. soldiers were killed in a roadside bomb in the northern city of Mosul.

Monday’s deaths brought the number to 3,979 members of the U.S. military who have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gkx-3oYeFwuWKCusr2jrojs98w8wD8VALA5G0


5 posted on 03/10/2008 9:03:27 AM PDT by nuconvert (There are bad people in the pistachio business.)
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Five US soldiers killed in Baghdad suicide attack

Suicide bomber blows himself up near US patrol in central Baghdad, killing five soldiers, wounding three others.

BAGHDAD - Five US soldiers were killed and three wounded in a suicide attack in central Baghdad on Monday, a US military spokesman said.

“Five US Soldiers were killed today when their dismounted patrol was struck by a suicide bomber. Three US soldiers and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded as well,” Lieutenant Michael Street said.

“A terrorist wearing an explosive vest blew himself against a dismounted US patrol,” Iraqi army spokesman Major General Qasim Ata said earlier.

Describing the attack, an Iraqi policeman at the site said that a convoy of five or six US military vehicles stopped in the neighbourhood because some soldiers “wanted to shop.”

Some 10 minutes later “there was an explosion,” he said, adding that he believed six soldiers were killed.

“After that the American soldiers shot in the air but nobody was wounded. They later took the bodies in cars.”

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=24737


6 posted on 03/10/2008 9:05:08 AM PDT by nuconvert (There are bad people in the pistachio business.)
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To: maquiladora
"If the explosive device came from Iran then Iran should start paying a price."

Iran should have payed the price long ago. We missed a perfect opportunity for some payback when we captured their fast boats on videotape harrassing our warships within just 200 feet. The threatening maneuvers they were making around our ships was an act of war. Our inaction could easily have led to another USS Cole, or worse. But we did nothing. Before that the Coalition fleet allowed them to capture British Royal Marines in International waters. Again, we did nothing. Little Ahmadinejad has Washington bamboozled, and he has the whole world paying higher gasoline prices due to the instability he has created in the region. But don't look for Bush to take action, he will leave the "Axis of Evil" for the next Administration to deal with. Ahmadinejad has been making a fool out of Bush, and he's not finding it particularly difficult to do.

7 posted on 03/10/2008 9:07:45 AM PDT by houstonman58 ("When the Son of Man returns, will there be any faith left on earth, think ye"?)
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To: LS

What? Quite a few have died in the last month.


8 posted on 03/10/2008 9:10:47 AM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: Captain Kirk

In the last 10 days, prior to this, no American had died. A Brit died in Basra during that time. There was quite a bit of hope we could go 30 full days without an American death. I certainly don’t think it’s “quite a few.” I think we are still under 10 for a 30-day period.


9 posted on 03/10/2008 9:16:54 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: maquiladora

Note that a female suicide bomber killed a Sunni leader and 2 others in Baqouba around the same time. I wonder if the Baghdad bomb-donkey was also a female? Soldiers know not to take anything for granted, but it is easy to slip, especially after a lengthy period of relative calm. It could explain the patrol being off guard enough for nine of them to be caught in a single explosion.

In any case, it is obvious from recent reports that AQ has switched tactics, and is now relying almost entirely on suicide bomb attacks to make its case to the global media.
This is probably because suicide bombs can be prepared in secret, out of sight of neighbors, whereas IEDs and ambushes will come to the attention of vigilant Iraqi civilians who are far more likely now to report such activity.


10 posted on 03/10/2008 9:25:27 AM PDT by atomic conspiracy (Victory in Iraq: Worst defeat for activist media since Goebbels shot himself.)
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To: LS
You're right. There were thirteen fatalities between February10 and the end of the month and one this month before today's incident.

There were 81 fatalities in February 2007 and 75 in March.

11 posted on 03/10/2008 9:32:07 AM PDT by atomic conspiracy (Victory in Iraq: Worst defeat for activist media since Goebbels shot himself.)
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To: atomic conspiracy

So one in 10 days; 12 in Feb. Both way too high, on the one hand, and amazingly low on the other.


12 posted on 03/10/2008 9:37:21 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: maquiladora

I received an e-mail from a relative this morning about this. She is working in Baghdad as a consultant. She said that the blast shook the building she was in so it was fairly close, just “outside the gate”. She mentioned that her group didn’t know what actually had happened. I’ve sent her news reports a few moments ago. She said she is now asking to be given shooting lessons.


13 posted on 03/10/2008 9:53:14 AM PDT by miele man (Continually voting against iodine deficient libs for 42 years)
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To: Captain Kirk
So one in 10 days; 12 in Feb. Both way too high, on the one hand, and amazingly low on the other.

Wrong. 32 American soldiers have died since February 1. That figure does NOT include the five who recently died. If you want a source to verify this, let me know.

In any case, you weren't talking about ten days in your original post. Here is what you said:

Made it just about a month and only one guy had died til now.

.

14 posted on 03/10/2008 10:22:02 AM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: LS
Ooops, forgot to direct this to LS

So one in 10 days; 12 in Feb. Both way too high, on the one hand, and amazingly low on the other.

Wrong. 32 American soldiers have died since February 1. That figure does NOT include the five who recently died. If you want a source to verify this, let me know.

In any case, you weren't talking about ten days in your original post. Here is what you said:

Made it just about a month and only one guy had died til now.

.

15 posted on 03/10/2008 10:23:24 AM PDT by Captain Kirk
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To: maquiladora


TAPS


Welcome Home

16 posted on 03/10/2008 10:24:23 AM PDT by The Mayor (The purpose of prayer is not to get what we want, but to become what God wants.)
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To: Captain Kirk

Yeah, I thought we were closing in on a month before this. Guess it was only 10 days-—but 10 days without a single American death is pretty remarkable.


17 posted on 03/10/2008 11:01:50 AM PDT by LS (CNN is the Amtrak of News)
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To: miele man
She mentioned that her group didn’t know what actually had happened. I’ve sent her news reports a few moments ago. She said she is now asking to be given shooting lessons.

Did she just get here recently?

18 posted on 03/10/2008 12:19:18 PM PDT by Allegra (Posting without being logged on since 2001)
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To: Allegra

Yes, she’s been there now barely three weeks.


19 posted on 03/10/2008 2:03:50 PM PDT by miele man (Continually voting against iodine deficient libs for 42 years)
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To: miele man
Yes, she’s been there now barely three weeks.

Oh, OK. Those noises can be quite frightening when you're new here. And hearing what the result was can also be disheartening.

I hate to sound cavalier, but she'll get used to it in time. It's just one of those adjustment things and I can still remember my heart being in my throat for a while after any nearby blast.

The good side is that it's much better lately than it was in the early days and we don't hear those noises nearly as often as we used to.

And it's never a bad idea to take shooting lessons. Please give her my best wishes.

20 posted on 03/10/2008 2:15:00 PM PDT by Allegra (Posting without being logged on since 2001)
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