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U.S. Troops Parachute Into Northern Iraq
About 1,000 U.S. troops have parachuted into northern Iraq and seized an airfield in Kurdish-controlled territory, CNN reported on Wednesday. The network said the troops were from the 173rd airborne brigade and seized the airfield to clear the way for armored tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles.FOLLOWUP: from Washington Post... A thousand paratroopers from the Army's 173rd Airborne Brigade jumped into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq today at a strategic airfield to open a northern front for U.S. forces. The operation is also aimed at discouraging Turkish troops on the border from crossing into Iraq in large numbers, a move that could precipitate fighting with Kurdish forces. "Americans are asking you to make the world a better place by jumping into the unknown for the benefit of others," Col. William Mayville, the brigade commander, told the paratroops before they boarded Air Force C-17 jets. "Paratroopers, our cause is just and victory is certain," Mayville added. "I want you to join me tonight on an airborne assault." The force dropped into northern Iraq includes rifle companies, platoons armed with mortars and antitank missiles, engineers for clearing mines, sniper teams, long-range surveillance teams, Air Force ground teams and Humvees equipped with missiles and .50-caliber machine guns. Heavy weaponry, equipment and more troops to support and expand the brigade's position will arrive in coming days, officers said. The complex operation, one of the largest U.S. airborne combat operations since World War II, takes the airborne brigade into an area controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party, one of two Kurdish groups governing an autonomous area that had been protected by U.S. and British fighter patrols. It places the U.S. forces at a location where commanders say they can influence the actions of all Iraqi, Turkish and Kurdish forces, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the group governing the other part of the zone. The brigade is also positioned for involvement in the key cities of Irbil and Kirkuk, commanders said. Backed by heavy air cover, the airborne brigade is also prepared to fight Iraqi forces it encounters and could be launched to seize key strategic objectives outside Kurdish-controlled territory, officers said. I hope they've got the air cover really tightly integrated. Our airborne troops are very tough, and very well-trained, but they're of necessity a light infantry force. Sure would have been nice to mate them with 4ID... Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2003-03-26 |
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