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The Untold Story of the Battle Against the 'Soldiers of Heaven'
H/T Blackfive -- this is a must read!The 11 Special Forces soldiers were speeding along in three Humvees. The call for help had come from an Iraqi army scout. The Iraqis had moved a little after dawn to arrest what they thought were about 30 potential troublemakers. The SF team members had no clue they were racing into a 24-hour battle, vastly outnumbered and outgunned by a heavily armed militia of about 800 cult-like Shiite warriors. The "Soldiers of Heaven" were dug in to fight to the death in their quest to take over the city of Najaf and its holy shrine. The fighting that erupted Jan. 28, 2007, turned out to be some of the fiercest of the Iraq war. U.S. and Iraqi soldiers killed 373 enemy fighters, and more than 400 surrendered. The U.S. Army awarded more than 100 combat decorations for bravery that day, including at least eight Silver Stars and a Distinguished Flying Cross. The battle has since been reconstructed in some media accounts ,but the fight against the Soldiers of Heaven remains little known outside the circles of those who were there. This is that Army story. Like I said --- a must read. There is a map of the battleground Posted by: Sherry 2008-10-07 |
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