News & Politics - Iraq attack leaves 5 GIs dead; 3 missing

Lexis · 05-12-2007, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter came under attack Saturday morning during a patrol of a Sunni insurgent stronghold south of Baghdad, leaving five dead and three missing, the military said.

Troops were searching for the three missing, using drone planes, jets and checkpoints throughout the area, according to the statement. Soldiers were also asking local leaders for information.

After the pre-dawn attack near Mahmoudiya, a Sunni stronghold about 20 miles south of Baghdad, nearby units heard explosions and a drone plane later observed two burning vehicles, the statement said.

Troops who arrived later found five of the soldiers dead. The other three members of the patrol were gone, according to the statement, from Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in
Iraq.

The military refused to specify whether the Iraqi interpreter was among those killed or among the missing, citing security.

"Make no mistake: We will never stop looking for our soldiers until their status is definitively determined, and we continue to pray for their safe return," Caldwell said.

The attack occurred nearly a year after two American soldiers went missing following a June 16 attack in the same area, prompting a massive search. Their bodies were found tied together with a bomb between one victim's legs several days later.

Iraq attack leaves 5 GIs dead; 3 missing - Yahoo! News

I really hope they find them quickly because these vicious thugs don't seem to possess one ounce of compassion for human life. What they did to those poor, poor guys last year... I really hope this crackdown/surge starts to work soon because these soldiers are just getting murdered out there.

joquim · 05-17-2007, 07:16 AM

Private Daniel Courneya has been named as among those killed

The US military has offered rewards of up to $200,000 (£100,000) for information leading to the return of three of its soldiers missing in Iraq.
Thousands of US and Iraqi soldiers are involved in the search for the men, who vanished after an ambush on Saturday.
The Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group of militants led by al-Qaeda, has said it is holding the soldiers.
The Pentagon has named three of the four soldiers killed as Sergeant James Connell, 40, of Tennessee, Private Daniel Courneya, 19, of Michigan and Private Christopher Murphy, 21, of Virginia.
DNA tests are being carried out to determine the identity of the fourth body, which was badly damaged. The military will then be able to confirm which are the missing three soldiers.

elisheva · 05-17-2007, 07:18 AM

We already have a thread for this incident, so I've merged the two threads. Also, please make sure to always add a source for all your news stories. Thank you.

Lexis · 05-19-2007, 10:29 AM

Quote:

The top U.S. commander in
Iraq said he believes he knows who kidnapped three U.S. soldiers last weekend and that at least two of them are still alive, the Army Times newspaper reported.

"We know who that guy is," Gen. David Petraeus said in an interview posted Saturday on the Army Times Web site. He did not give the man's name but described him as "sort of an affiliate of al-Qaida. He's the big player down in that area. We've tangled with him before."

U.S. forces have been searching for the three since they went missing May 12 after a pre-dawn attack on their observation position about 20 miles south of Baghdad. Four U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi were killed in the attack.

According to the newspaper, Petraeus said he did not know for certain whether the three 10th Mountain Division soldiers were alive.

"As of this morning, we thought there were at least two that were probably still alive," he said. "At one point in time there was a sense that one of them might have died, but again we just don't know."

Petraeus spoke with the Army Times late Friday, his staff said.

Commander: At least 2 U.S. troops alive - Yahoo! News

Hopefully they find them soon. They must be going through hell.

**sunnykerr** · 05-19-2007, 04:15 PM

Hopefully they are found safe and sound and returned to their families who must also be going through hell.

And hopefully leaders of the world will start realizing that this is a civil war. And that putting their combating troops in that scenario will inherently bear these types of dangers.

I am not against foreign presence in Iraq, I really am not. The UN, Doctors Without Borders, and the UHRC, for instance, would probably be right where they need to be. But there isn't a war to win anymore.

Lexis · 05-23-2007, 04:04 AM

Quote:

Iraqi police found the body of a man who was wearing what appeared to be a U.S. military uniform and had a tattoo on his left hand floating in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad on Wednesday morning. One Iraqi official said the body was that of an American soldier.

Iraqi police: Body found in U.S. uniform - Yahoo! News

**sunnykerr** · 05-23-2007, 05:54 AM

I heard about that on the news this morning. Either way you look at it, it's incredibly sad.

Lexis · 05-24-2007, 03:36 AM

Quote:

A body recovered by Iraqi police from the Euphrates River south of Baghdad was identified as one of three American soldiers abducted in an ambush claimed by al-Qaida, the military said Thursday.

Military officials told the family of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr. that a commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but that DNA tests were still pending.

"They told us, 'We're sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe,'" the soldier's aunt, Debbie Anzack, said Wednesday. "I'm in disbelief."

...

American forces also disclosed 11 more deaths Wednesday and Thursday, raising to at least 22 the number of U.S. troops killed in five days.

Nationwide, deadly attacks continued Thursday as 20 were killed by the bombing of a funeral procession west of Baghdad, and six police officers were killed in northern
Iraq.

At least 104 people were killed in sectarian violence or found dead Wednesday, including 32 who died in suicide bombings. One bombing took place 60 miles west of the capital, the other in a city to the east near the Iranian border.

...

Members of the three soldiers' platoon were crushed by reports that a body had been found.

"It just angers me that it's just another friend I've got to lose and deal with, because I've already lost 13 friends since I've been here and I don't know if I can take anymore of this," said Spc. Daniel Seitz, 22, from Pensacola, Fla.

U.S. military IDs missing soldier's body - Yahoo! News

So, so heartbreaking. 20 years old and just...gone.

Lexis · 06-04-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Al-Qaida linked insurgents killed three American soldiers after capturing them last month in
Iraq, according to a militant video released Monday that claimed to show footage of the ambush. The video offered no proof for its claims.
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The clip, which was made available to The Associated Press by the Washington-based SITE Institute, showed confused and jerky night battle scenes, and later offered close-ups of two identification cards. It did not show the soldiers.

"The Americans sent 4,000 soldiers looking for them," said an unidentified voice on the video, which featured the logo of the media production house of the Islamic State of Iraq. "They were alive and then dead."

The body of one of the soldiers was found in Iraq's Euphrates River, but the other two remain missing. Family friends of the missing men said the U.S. military briefed relatives about the video over the weekend.

The U.S. military insisted the search for the two missing soldiers would continue.

"We condemn the tactics used by these terrorists, and are using all means available to pursue those responsible," said Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner, the chief military spokesman in Baghdad. "We continue to search and hope that our two missing soldiers will be found alive and in good health. "

The video offered no proof for its claims that the soldiers had been killed and buried. The voiceover blamed their deaths on "the American Army and their leaders, who do not care for the feelings of the soldiers' mothers."

"And as you refused to deliver the bodies of our killed people, we will not deliver the bodies of your dead, and their end will be beneath the ground, Allah willing," the voice said.

A body found May 23 in the Euphrates River was identified by the U.S. military as Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., 20, of Torrance, Calif. The missing soldiers have been identified as Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and of Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich.

Group claims captured troops were killed - Yahoo! News

I'm hoping that these militants are just being cruel and trying to take the heat of their back by lying about these soldiers fate. My heart goes out to family and friends of these guys, it must be hell.


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