Posted on 01/21/2007 4:19:49 PM PST by TexKat
KARBALA, Iraq - Chilling details emerged Sunday of gunmen posing as American and Iraqi soldiers in an ambush on U.S. troops in Karbala a day earlier that killed five Americans and wounded three.
On Saturday, a civil affairs team of American soldiers sat with local leaders in Karbala's provincial headquarters to discuss security for Ashoura, a Shiite commemoration of the massacre of the revered Imam Hussein that began Sunday.
Outside, danger was approaching. A convoy of seven white GMC Suburbans sped toward the building, breezing through checkpoints, with the men wearing American and Iraqi military uniforms and flashing American ID cards, Iraqi officials said. The force stopped at the police directorate in Karbala and took weapons but gave no reason, said police spokesman Capt. Muthana Ahmed in Babel province.
A call was made to the provincial headquarters to inform them an American convoy was on its way, said the governor of Karbala, Akeel al-Khazaali. But the Americans stationed inside the building, which acts as a coordination center for Iraqi officials, Iraqi security forces and U.S. forces, had not been informed, Iraqi officials said.
As the U.S. soldiers and the Iraqis scrambled to figure out if the men were Americans or an illegally armed group, the convoy arrived and the gunmen tried to break in.
The gunmen launched grenades, mortars and small arms fire, according to a U.S. military statement. The U.S. military said Sunday it was still not clear if the gunmen were Sunni or Shiite militia. Abu Abdullah, a commander in Karbala of the Mahdi Army, the militia led by firebrand Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, on Sunday denied involvement in the attack.
(Excerpt) Read more at realcities.com ...
Bump -
This is why I wanted us out four years ago. We are so scared that we'll be viewed as barbarians by the world that we'll let ourselves be martyred first. The world is going to hate us no matter what. If you can't be loved, then be feared. We are doing neither.
Machiavelli! I've always admired that view...
Right-on-target...thanks for the ping Seadog Bytes.
Thanks for the information. However, would there be Sunnis at the Karbala end to help set this up, as there appears to be? Also, the meeting being held in the compound was to plan security for the SHIITE Ashura pilgrimage, yet not one of those Shiite police officers or soldiers were killed or even shot at. The target was purely U.S. soldiers....
???
Re-Bump!!
PC war and pansy Congress
Would the US let Germany or Japan tell our Generals what to do in 1949?
Justa,
First, I admire and commend your efforts in Iraq.
I meant to say Hilla is on the west. But I guess you are familiar with the area.
Actually, I am an Iraqi American born in Najaf, not far from Karbala and Hilla!
When I first heard of this incident, I immediatly thought it is Sunni insurgents, because I know they are much more capable than the bandits of Sadr. Now with the news that those involved spoke English, etc, it makes me think that they are some highly organized Al-qaeda perhaps.
I guess we will know more in the coming days.
Its heart breaking to hear of these loses. Its also bad news as it would make the cooperation between US and Iraqi troops even more complicated.
Stay safe, and best wishes.
Vietnam, that was when the media divorced the civilians of this country from the military.
Soldier remembered in upstate NY hometown as hardworking, quiet
January 23, 2007, 10:15 AM EST
HOMER, N.Y. (AP) _ Shawn Falter wasn't the star football player or the boisterous center of attention when he was in high school, but people in this upstate New York village will forever remember him.
Falter, a 25-year-old Army private, was killed along with four fellow soldiers Saturday when insurgents attacked a building in Karbala, Iraq, as officials met to plan security for Shiite pilgrims.
"He knew how to lighten a moment just when you needed it. He was an easygoing kid," said Homer High School Principal Fred Farah.
The high school, located 25 miles south of Syracuse in Cortland County, held a moment of silence in Falter's memory on Monday. He graduated from the school in 1999.
Farah said Falter was quiet but hardworking. He had a subtle sense of humor and would rather make a funny gesture or expression than crack a loud joke, he said.
"Shawn was a great kid," said Lawrence King, director of instruction and evaluation in the Homer Central School District. "He was the kind of kid that was able to sort of float between different groups ... he was accepted by each one, the kind of kid that you would like to have as a friend. If you needed something, Shawn was always there."
Falter's two older brothers joined the military, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps, King said. "That was another thing about Shawn, once he locked onto something, he was pretty determined to accomplish his goal."
Falter, who was single and had no children, enlisted in August 2005. He was deployed from Fort Richardson, Alaska. His family declined interviews, said Sgt. Raymond Swift, the family's casualty assistance officer.
http://www.amny.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-ny--iraq-soldierkille0123jan23,0,475094.story?coll=ny-ap-regional-wire
Very, very sad.
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