Hudhaifa
30-09-03, 18:35
US Forces Ambushed in Iraqi Towns, US Soldiers Killed, Wounded
Sep 30, 2003
Source: New York Times
American forces were compelled to call in helicopters, tanks and warplanes to fight off an ambush by Iraqi insurgents today in the rebellious city of Khaldiya, military officials and witnesses said. Several soldiers were wounded in the firefight, which lasted at least six hours.
In a virtually simultaneous ambush just six miles away in Habbaniya, a soldier was killed when the convoy he was traveling with was attacked with an explosive device and rocket-propelled grenades, according to The Associated Press.
Both Iraqi towns lie along the Euphrates River in the so-called Sunni triangle, an area of intense resistance to American occupation forces.
A military official said the almost daylong battle in Khaldiya, 40 miles west of Baghdad, began just after 9 a.m. when an explosive device detonated as a military convoy of the 82nd Airborne Division was passing. Guerrillas then opened fire on the disabled convoy with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, Lt. Col. George Krivo said.
Military officials said reinforced units of the light infantry division had regrouped and given chase to the Iraqis, who took refuge in a number of houses in the town.
Soldiers in Bradley fighting vehicles supported by attack helicopters sought to flush out and destroy the Iraqi fighters in a battle that lasted into midafternoon, the officials said. There were reports of a number of civilian casualties.
Local witnesses described a fierce battle, with helicopters, fighter jets and tanks attacking suspected guerrilla positions, according to The Associated Press. The witnesses' account, though, said it had taken several hours for reinforcements to arrive, during which time the Iraqi attackers had run away.
Military officials could provide no estimate of the size of the attacking force, nor any estimate of the number of Iraqi deaths. Reuters reported that local residents had said that at least five Iraqis had been wounded during the battle.
The attacks came on a day when the United Nations announced that it had further reduced its international staff in Baghdad, to fewer than 50 people. More than 600 staff members were working in Iraq before the car bomb attack on Aug. 19 against the hotel that served as United Nations headquarters.
In the unstable region west of the capital, the 82nd Airborne has taken a more aggressive approach to resistance after replacing the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment earlier this month. In at least three high-profile incidents since Sept. 12, soldiers from the 82nd have killed Iraqi civilians or Iraqi police officers in incidents near the town of Falluja.
In northern Iraq today, troops from the Fourth Armored Division, operating with about 200 Iraqi policemen, conducted one of the largest search operations yet in the area around Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit.
The raids are an effort to break the cycle of resistance against allied forces and find important resistance leaders from Mr. Hussein's military or security services who may be directing attacks. A total of 92 Iraqis were arrested in raids on Sunday night and today, but military officials did not say whether any resistance leaders had been captured.
In Baghdad today, unknown assailants blew up a video store that specialized in selling cassettes of violence and torture meted out by members of Mr. Hussein's secret services. No one was hurt in the blast.
Also in the capital, confusion continued to surround a street shootout that involved a convoy carrying Jalal Uldin al-Saghir, a Shiite cleric who is on the committee that is to report its recommendations on writing Iraq's new constitution this week.
Mr. Saghir was not hurt in the gun battle, which jangled nerves after the assassination of Akila al-Hashimi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council. She was shot by nine gunmen on Sept. 20 and died five days later.
Sep 30, 2003
Source: New York Times
American forces were compelled to call in helicopters, tanks and warplanes to fight off an ambush by Iraqi insurgents today in the rebellious city of Khaldiya, military officials and witnesses said. Several soldiers were wounded in the firefight, which lasted at least six hours.
In a virtually simultaneous ambush just six miles away in Habbaniya, a soldier was killed when the convoy he was traveling with was attacked with an explosive device and rocket-propelled grenades, according to The Associated Press.
Both Iraqi towns lie along the Euphrates River in the so-called Sunni triangle, an area of intense resistance to American occupation forces.
A military official said the almost daylong battle in Khaldiya, 40 miles west of Baghdad, began just after 9 a.m. when an explosive device detonated as a military convoy of the 82nd Airborne Division was passing. Guerrillas then opened fire on the disabled convoy with automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, Lt. Col. George Krivo said.
Military officials said reinforced units of the light infantry division had regrouped and given chase to the Iraqis, who took refuge in a number of houses in the town.
Soldiers in Bradley fighting vehicles supported by attack helicopters sought to flush out and destroy the Iraqi fighters in a battle that lasted into midafternoon, the officials said. There were reports of a number of civilian casualties.
Local witnesses described a fierce battle, with helicopters, fighter jets and tanks attacking suspected guerrilla positions, according to The Associated Press. The witnesses' account, though, said it had taken several hours for reinforcements to arrive, during which time the Iraqi attackers had run away.
Military officials could provide no estimate of the size of the attacking force, nor any estimate of the number of Iraqi deaths. Reuters reported that local residents had said that at least five Iraqis had been wounded during the battle.
The attacks came on a day when the United Nations announced that it had further reduced its international staff in Baghdad, to fewer than 50 people. More than 600 staff members were working in Iraq before the car bomb attack on Aug. 19 against the hotel that served as United Nations headquarters.
In the unstable region west of the capital, the 82nd Airborne has taken a more aggressive approach to resistance after replacing the Third Armored Cavalry Regiment earlier this month. In at least three high-profile incidents since Sept. 12, soldiers from the 82nd have killed Iraqi civilians or Iraqi police officers in incidents near the town of Falluja.
In northern Iraq today, troops from the Fourth Armored Division, operating with about 200 Iraqi policemen, conducted one of the largest search operations yet in the area around Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit.
The raids are an effort to break the cycle of resistance against allied forces and find important resistance leaders from Mr. Hussein's military or security services who may be directing attacks. A total of 92 Iraqis were arrested in raids on Sunday night and today, but military officials did not say whether any resistance leaders had been captured.
In Baghdad today, unknown assailants blew up a video store that specialized in selling cassettes of violence and torture meted out by members of Mr. Hussein's secret services. No one was hurt in the blast.
Also in the capital, confusion continued to surround a street shootout that involved a convoy carrying Jalal Uldin al-Saghir, a Shiite cleric who is on the committee that is to report its recommendations on writing Iraq's new constitution this week.
Mr. Saghir was not hurt in the gun battle, which jangled nerves after the assassination of Akila al-Hashimi, a member of Iraq's Governing Council. She was shot by nine gunmen on Sept. 20 and died five days later.