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Another Update to the Karbala Killings
Correction: A previous version of this release cited an incorrect date for the incident. BAGHDAD -- Armed insurgents attacked the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, about 30 miles south of Baghdad, dressed in U.S. Army styled combat uniforms Jan. 20, in which five U.S. Soldiers were killed and three others wounded. At approximately 5 p.m., a convoy consisting of at least five sport utility vehicles entered the Karbala compound. The armed militants wore American-looking uniforms and carried U.S.-type weapons convincing Iraqi checkpoints to allow their passage. Once inside the compound, an estimated nine to 12 armed militants engaged the American troops with rifle fire and hand grenades. While defending the command post, one Soldier was killed and three others were wounded by a hand grenade thrown into the center's main office which contains the provincial police chief's office on an upper floor. During the attack in the main building, Soldiers defending it reported hearing a series of explosions in the compound causing the Soldiers to seek cover. Three U.S. military Humvees were damaged from the explosions. The attackers broke off the assault withdrawing from the compound with four captured U.S. Soldiers. The insurgents then drove out of the Karbala province and into neighboring Babil province, encountering an Iraqi police checkpoint. The sport utility vehicles passed through the checkpoint, but the Iraqi police trailed the vehicles, suspicious of the group. After proceeding further east and crossing the Euphrates River, the assailants drove north toward Hillah, abandoning five SUVs, U.S. Army-type combat uniforms, boots, radios and a non-U.S. made rifle. Iraqi police in pursuit found the abandoned vehicles and equipment near the Iraqi town of Al Mahawil. Two Soldiers were found handcuffed together in the back of one of the SUVs. Both had suffered gunshot wounds and were dead. A third Soldier was found shot and dead on the ground. Nearby, the fourth Soldier was still alive, despite a gunshot wound to the head. The Iraqi police rushed the severely wounded Soldier to a nearby hospital, but the Soldier died enroute. "The precision of the attack, the equipment used and the possible use of explosives to destroy the military vehicles in the compound suggests that the attack was well rehearsed prior to execution," said Lt. Col. Scott Bleichwehl, spokesman for Multi-National Division-Baghdad. "The attackers went straight to where Americans were located in the provincial government facility, by-passing the Iraqi police in the compound," said Bleichwehl. "We are looking at all the evidence to determine who or what was responsible for the breakdown in security at the compound and the perpetration of the assault." Bleichwehl said the U.S. Soldiers of the Karbala compound demonstrated uncommon courage and valor. "Our hearts go out to the families of the fallen warriors from Karbala," he said. "They were true heroes who fought to the last." Posted by: Bobby 2007-01-29 |
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