3 GIs missing in Iraq
yahoo.com
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Thousands of U.S. soldiers searched Sunday for three Americans who were missing after their patrol came under attack in an explosion that killed four other American soldiers and an Iraqi army translator.
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Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber crashed into the offices of a Kurdish political party, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens, including the mayor, officials said. It was the second suicide attack in Kurdish areas of the north in four days.
The U.S. said Saturday that five people were dead and three were missing after the pre-dawn attack near Mahmoudiya. U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed Sunday that the Iraqi interpreter was among the dead - and that all the missing were Americans. He said about 4,000 U.S. troops were involved in the search.
"Everybody is fully engaged, the commanders are intimately focused on this, every asset we have from national assets to tactical assets ... are being used ... to locate these three missing soldiers," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the bodies of the three slain soldiers and the Iraqi interpreter had been identified, but the military was still working to identify the fifth.
Mahmoudiya is about 20 miles south of Baghdad in an al-Qaida-dominated area known as the "triangle of death." Two U.S. soldiers were found massacred there last year after they disappeared at a checkpoint.
CNN.COM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- American troops were on the hunt Sunday in a volatile region south of Baghdad for three members of a U.S.-led military patrol, who went missing after an insurgent attack Saturday that killed five others.
The U.S. military said attackers struck the team of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter. The interpreter and four soldiers were killed, military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said Sunday.
U.S. forces are using all assets in their search for the missing troops, who are listed as duty status whereabouts unknown, the military said. (Watch the dangers that troops face in the "Triangle of Death" Video)
"We have a soldier's creed that says, 'I will never leave a fallen comrade,'" Caldwell said. "We believe in this deeply and still make every effort available to find our three missing soldiers."
Checkpoints have been established throughout the region and aircraft including helicopters, drones and jets have been deployed in the search.
The predawn attack occurred 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya, a city south of the capital in a region that has been nicknamed the Triangle of Death. (Map)
A nearby unit heard explosions, and 15 minutes later, a drone aircraft spotted two burning vehicles, according to a U.S. military statement.
"Coalition forces are currently using every means at our disposal to find the missing Soldiers, and we will continue these efforts until all are accounted for," said a statement from Caldwell.
The search is reminiscent of the hunt last June for two soldiers who were seized at a checkpoint in Yusufiya.
The two also were listed as duty status whereabouts unknown until their bodies were found three days later.
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer 3 minutes ago
BAGHDAD - Thousands of U.S. soldiers searched Sunday for three Americans who were missing after their patrol came under attack in an explosion that killed four other American soldiers and an Iraqi army translator.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, a suicide truck bomber crashed into the offices of a Kurdish political party, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens, including the mayor, officials said. It was the second suicide attack in Kurdish areas of the north in four days.
The U.S. said Saturday that five people were dead and three were missing after the pre-dawn attack near Mahmoudiya. U.S. spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell confirmed Sunday that the Iraqi interpreter was among the dead - and that all the missing were Americans. He said about 4,000 U.S. troops were involved in the search.
"Everybody is fully engaged, the commanders are intimately focused on this, every asset we have from national assets to tactical assets ... are being used ... to locate these three missing soldiers," Caldwell said.
Caldwell said the bodies of the three slain soldiers and the Iraqi interpreter had been identified, but the military was still working to identify the fifth.
Mahmoudiya is about 20 miles south of Baghdad in an al-Qaida-dominated area known as the "triangle of death." Two U.S. soldiers were found massacred there last year after they disappeared at a checkpoint.
CNN.COM
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- American troops were on the hunt Sunday in a volatile region south of Baghdad for three members of a U.S.-led military patrol, who went missing after an insurgent attack Saturday that killed five others.
The U.S. military said attackers struck the team of seven U.S. soldiers and an Iraqi army interpreter. The interpreter and four soldiers were killed, military spokesman Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell said Sunday.
U.S. forces are using all assets in their search for the missing troops, who are listed as duty status whereabouts unknown, the military said. (Watch the dangers that troops face in the "Triangle of Death" Video)
"We have a soldier's creed that says, 'I will never leave a fallen comrade,'" Caldwell said. "We believe in this deeply and still make every effort available to find our three missing soldiers."
Checkpoints have been established throughout the region and aircraft including helicopters, drones and jets have been deployed in the search.
The predawn attack occurred 12 miles west of Mahmoudiya, a city south of the capital in a region that has been nicknamed the Triangle of Death. (Map)
A nearby unit heard explosions, and 15 minutes later, a drone aircraft spotted two burning vehicles, according to a U.S. military statement.
"Coalition forces are currently using every means at our disposal to find the missing Soldiers, and we will continue these efforts until all are accounted for," said a statement from Caldwell.
The search is reminiscent of the hunt last June for two soldiers who were seized at a checkpoint in Yusufiya.
The two also were listed as duty status whereabouts unknown until their bodies were found three days later.
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thats war !!!!! [;)] 0 -
Everything else in that corner of the world ceases to matter to military leaders when we have a soldier missing. This is their number one mission in life right now and I can assure you there are members of that unit who have not so much as closed an eye since they heard the terrible news. They will not sleep until these men are recovered.
One of the few times I ever felt like the US and Iraqi Forces were truly on the same sheet of music when I was in Baghdad last year, was during the search for the soldiers from 1/502 in the Al-Rashid/ Yousifiyah/ Muhmadiah area who eventually were recovered after having been savagely murdered by the enemy.
Please keep the soldiers and their families in your prayers.
Al-Qaida group says it has missing GIs
By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer
27 minutes ago
Thousands of U.S. soldiers searched Sunday for three Americans who were missing after their patrol came under attack in an explosion that killed four other American soldiers and an Iraqi army translator. The Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida front group, said it had captured several soldiers in the attack, but offered no proof to back up its claim, posted on an Islamic Web site.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070513/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq0 -
That boils my blood...[:(!] 0 -
WARRIOR ETHOS
I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.0 -
Wait pisses all of us in uniform off is that we know that we are not fighting an oppossing military force that has ROEs and abides by the Geneva Conventions. We know that we are fighting against an unethical militant group that will do whatever it wants. Unfortunately we all have the sinking feeling that these missing soldiers will be discovered mutilated and their bodies dumped in the streets.
Our civilian leadership needs to realize that this is not a "win their hearts and minds" or a war against a nations army. They need to pull the gloves off of our troops, trash the majority of the ROEs and unleash them. These people believe in death for Allah...then lets send them there.
The only other option...pull us out and admit that we dont have the stomach to fight a war on their terms. That is a bad option...the fight will eventually come to our soil.0 -
I hope it's my 'ex wife. She's over there. 0 -
Here's another good one,
The Six Articles of The Code of Conduct
I am an American, fighting in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.
I will never surrender of my own free will. If in command, I will never surrender the members of my command while they still have the means to resist.
If I am captured, I will continue to resist by all means available. I will make every effort to escape and aid others to escape. I will accept neither parole nor special favors from the enemy.
If I become a prisoner of war, I will keep faith with my fellow prisoners. I will give no information or take part in any action which might be harmful to my comrades. If I am senior, I will take command. If not, I will obey the lawful orders of those appointed over me, and will back them up in every way.
When questioned, should I become a prisoner of war, I am required to give only name, rank, service number, and date of birth. I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability.
I will make no oral or written statements disloyal to my country and its allies or harmful to their cause.
I will never forget that I am an American, fighting for freedom, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in God and in the United States of America.0 -
When can we start taking them prisoner over here in US? Or at least make it uncomfortable for them to live here? We interned the japanese, why should it be any different now? -dave- 0 -
quote:Originally posted by medic07
Our civilian leadership needs to realize that this is not a "win their hearts and minds" or a war against a nations army. They need to pull the gloves off of our troops, trash the majority of the ROEs and unleash them. These people believe in death for Allah...then lets send them there.
If that's the case, then George Bush should appear on television before the nation and admit that all the BS he said about this being a "humanitarian" mission and bringing freedom and democracy to the poor oppressed Iraqi people was just a crock of s**t designed to sell this war after the WMD thing came up flat, and that we're really there spilling American blood and burning American tax dollars so that a few rich old men can get even richer on the teet of Iraqi oil and the American taxpayer.
I don't think the Iraqis are going to "come get us over here" if we pull out. What are they going to do, ride their camels across the Atlantic? Put those troops that are in Iraq on the border with Mexico instead and at our seaports inspecting every container that comes into America and we won't have to worry about terrorists getting in. It's not like Al Qaeda's Navy is going to show up off the shore of Florida and land Jihadists on the beach in an invasion.0 -
I agree with most of what warriorsfan said.
mrseatle - I don't think that the Code of Conduct has been used as American Military Policy, since women began to be assigned to combat roles.
Anyone know for sure ??
Doug0
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