US Soldier Killed, Four Wounded In Attack Near Saddam's Hometown

Associated Press ^ | June 7, 2003 | Slobodan Lekic

[Seti 1]

U.S. Soldier Killed, 4 Wounded in Attack Near Saddam's Hometown

By Slobodan Lekic Associated Press Writer
Published: Jun 7, 2003

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - An American soldier was killed and four companions wounded Saturday in an attack near Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit north of the capital, a military statement said.

It was at least the seventh U.S. soldier killed in attacks in Iraq over the past two weeks.

Gunmen opened fire on the troops using small arms and a rocket-propelled grenade, said the brief statement released by U.S. Central Command.

The injured troops were evacuated by helicopter and ambulance to medical facilities in the area, the statement said. The names of the soldiers and their unit were withheld to allow notification of relatives.

No further details were available.

Tikrit, which remains a sensitive area as American forces try to keep a fragile peace in postwar Iraq, is located about 120 miles north of Baghdad.

Dozens of U.S. soldiers have been killed or injured in a spate of attacks in central Iraq since the end of the war nearly two months ago.

Of particular volatility is the area around Fallujah, a Sunni Muslim stronghold about 30 miles west of Baghdad. More than 1,500 U.S. Army solders from the 3rd Infantry Division were added to that area last week to prevent unrest and quell attacks on U.S. troops.

Meanwhile, one U.S. soldier died and two were wounded Friday in a road accident about 20 miles north of Baghdad.

A military statement said they were providing security escort to Coalition Provisional Authority personnel at the time of the accident. The wounded soldiers were evacuated to a field hospital for treatment.

[AdvisorB]

It's not the saddomite scum that I'm worried about. I'm
more concerned about homicidal hezbollah lunatics, strapping on bombs, and other fanatical shiite slime driving truck loads of explosives at our barracks. All of this being financed
by the bloodthirsty ayatollahs in Teheran and Qom.

[xJones]

All of this being financed by the bloodthirsty ayatollahs in Teheran and Qom.

No, the major funding has always come from Saudi Arabia.

[Eternal_Bear]

This is the price for empire and nation building. You wanted it, now u got it.

[AdvisorB]

Clearly the house of saud and the official state religion
wahhabism are the bankrollers of radical sunni fundametalist
groups. The MADrrases in Pakistan, the radical mosques
in the West, hamas in gaza, etc. They all spew a venomous
anti-American, anti-Israeli, hatred. However, it is the
crazed shiite mullahs next door in Iran that have much too lose
from a peaceful, prosperous Iraq. They will use their
influence with the shiites in the suburbs of Baghdad,
and the majority shiites in southern Iraq to make sure
this eventuality is stillborn. Keep your eyes of the
spiritual descendants of khomeini. They correctly
perceive that a vibrant, successful Iraq is a dagger
aimed right at the heart of an Iran run by the
un-democratic council of guardians.

[xJones]

Keep your eyes of the spiritual descendants of khomeini.

Just how many descendants are that? From what we've read here, the Iranian people are growing very tired of their own mullahs.

Mr., what country are you from?

[1rudeboy]

The actual number of killed US soldiers in the last two weeks is more like 23 with twice that wounded.

How do you jibe your number with the number reported here? Sources?

[1rudeboy]

Al-Jazeera doesn't count.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

The Baath party is protecting someone or something ! This location was the site of some the WMD development activityu I think!

[AdvisorB]

That was a very uplifting and intelligent post, xJones.

Let me try and spell it out for you. The council of guardians, a small, secretive conclave of radical shiite mullahs actually runs Iran. I know, Iran has an "elected" presdent by the name of khatami. A president in name only, a hapless figurehead. A president who doesn't control the military, the police, or the court system. The people of Iran also have an elective legislative body called the Majlis, composed of scores of reformers who together with the neutered president, present an appearance of moderation to the outside world. This "moderation" masks the real movers and shakers in Iran, the brutal, oppresive, council of guardians. The council of guardians will be one step closer to being consigned to the "trash heap of history" if the majorty shiite Iraq cobble together a viable Iraqi state. I would also like to point out to you that the Iranian upheaval in 1979 was the first successful religious revolution in the Islamic world. A revolution that not only threatened the US and the West, but the secular dictators and royal families doting the middle east.

As for what country am I from, what, do I speak with some kind of accent?

[ellhow]

Why would Iraq need help from foreign bankrollers? It's an oil rich country with plenty of cash, gold & weapons to sustain the war. No doubt Iraq has printed high quality counterfeit US money in the past and continues to do so in some basement. How convenient for them that the US$ is now the currency of Iraq.

[river rat]

It appears we "defeated" the Saddam regime -- but negleted to kill enough of the clymers and "belivers" that supported and benefited from his reign....

Fanatical Islamists will have to be destroyed...
They are not reasonable candidates for living in peace...
They are more suited as candidates to RIP...

Semper Fi

[xJones]

That was a very uplifting and intelligent reply.

As for what country am I from, what, do I speak with some kind of accent?

Yes, you do. Again, if you don't mind, what country do you come from? I'll go first if it helps, I'm a native born Texan. Now it's your intelligent turn.

[appalachian_dweller]

>> This is the price for empire and nation building. You wanted it, now u got it. <<

NOBODY wanted this war, except maybe the followers of radical islam. I find your comment extremely distasteful and disgusting.

The soldiers being wounded and killed are fighting for our freedom, indeed our very existence. Have some respect. There are mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers losing family members.

Prayers to those wounded for a speedy recovery and comfort to the family members of the deceased.

[Brad’s Gramma]

Please tell me you're just having an incredibly bad day and didn't mean what you said!?

[AdvisorB]

I was born and bred in Virginia. However I currently reside in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

My brothers and I have a suncare company called Ocean Potion. We sell oils, lotions, and gels in Walmart, Walgreens, Kmart, et.al. Because of this, I get a chance to travel throughout Texas. I was just in Amarillo, Lubbock, Plainview, Odessa, Pampa, Borger, Bonham, Paris, and Longview. Texas is a beautiful state, and the people are terrific.

[Fee]

I said it in previous postings, and I will say it again. Most of the attacks come from Baathist diehard areas. Raise a force of Kurdish and Shia troops and let them patrol those areas. Warn the Baathist that the US will look the other way if they retaliate for every attack made on them. The Baathist are facist in mentality. The only good Saddamite is a dead one. In the early days of victory, we should have gotten hold of the Baathist membership list, made it available to the Shiites and Kurds, and let them settle the score and purge their communities as well as the Baathist areas before we re-establish order.

[xJones]

Thanks for your reply, and congratulations on your business. But visiting Amarillo, Lubbock, Plainview, Odessa, Pampa, Borger, Bonham, Paris, and Longview must have been an epic trip.:)

[freedom44]

the 1979 was never about Islam. The main movers of the revolution were students, social democrats, leftists, and others who wanted democracy, not Islam. The Mullahs hiijacked the revolution and murdered off all the opposition.

Iranians are far closer to Shah's ideology than they were the Ayatollahs. The reason the Shah was hated was because he was a brutual dictator, not because the majority of people disagreed with his westernization, or foreign policy. No one ever mentioned 'Islam', except for the Mullahs.

As we see today in Iran. The Ayatollahs are massively hated, and Westernization embraced by majority of the population.