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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Soldier Dies in Roadside Bomb Explosion; Terrorists Killed in Firefight |
| 2005-08-21 |
| A 42nd Military Police Brigade soldier died today after his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, military officials reported. The soldier was taken to the 86th Combat Support Hospital, where he died, officials said. The soldier's name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. In other news from Iraq, Iraqi soldiers and coalition Special Forces advisers killed three terrorists in a combined raid on a kidnapping cell southeast of Fallujah on Aug. 19. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and U.S. Special Forces assaulted the target house and were quickly engaged by three enemy combatants with small-arms fire. The Iraqi and U.S. soldiers returned fire, killing all three terrorists. Soldiers found numerous weapons and bomb-making materials in the house, officials said. Iraqi Department of Border Enforcement officers and coalition forces interdicted a small group of smugglers and a large mule train crossing the Syrian border northwest of Tall Afar on Aug. 19. Border patrol officers and elements of the 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Found about a half dozen men leading more than 200 mules carrying fuel pods into Iraq. The smugglers were able to escape back into Syria with some of the mules. Coalition forces captured 145 of the mules and their fuel loads. No injuries or damage were reported. Also on Aug. 19, Iraqi army and coalition forces found a bomb on a roadway in Fallujah. Soldiers with 1st Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Intervention Force, and U.S. Marines secured the area and called in an explosive ordnance disposal team. The EOD team deployed a robot to get a better look at the explosive threat. While the robot was investigating the object, the bomb detonated and destroyed the robot. The IED consisted of a 122 mm artillery shell with an unknown type of receiver. Soldiers searched the area for a triggerman, with no success. No injuries were reported. |
| Posted by:Oztralian [AKA] God Save The World |
| #15 "#14 Mules, huh? What kind of half-assed smuggling ring was this? :) A time-honored one that's pretty effective in the rugged country along the Syria - Iraq border." Indeed. However, my above comment was intended as much a pun on the parentage of mules (that of between a horse and a donkey or ass) than anything else. |
| Posted by: Dave 2005-08-21 23:10 |
| #14 Mules, huh? What kind of half-assed smuggling ring was this? :) A time-honored one that's pretty effective in the rugged country along the Syria - Iraq border. GK, Iraq does not have a large refining capacity .. they tend to export the crude and import the finished products. These days, that's under the control of the Iraqi government so the insurgents are falling back on other supply lines. |
| Posted by: lotp 2005-08-21 19:13 |
| #13 Unfortunately, I DO remember both the commercials and the movies. However, the first thing I thought of was Marshall and Millie, a pair of black mules my uncle had in Louisiana. I learned to plow with those mules, many odd years ago - something not many of my generation can include on a resume! 8^) Oh, and NO, I'm not older than dirt - dirt's my older brother. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2005-08-21 14:59 |
| #12 Ah! Thanks for the link GK, interesting old brand name. Also finally figured out that a 20 mule team, means 20 mules - not 40. I want to visit their mine now that I know that have one of the wagons on site. 7 ft. wheels! |
| Posted by: Mona Gorilla 2005-08-21 09:43 |
| #11 I remember many a night with my parents watching those movies.One of my fondest childhood memories. |
| Posted by: raptor 2005-08-21 06:23 |
| #10 Mules, huh? What kind of half-assed smuggling ring was this? :) |
| Posted by: Dave 2005-08-21 04:07 |
| #9 MG,borates were used in working gold. |
| Posted by: GK 2005-08-21 03:57 |
| #8 I remember the TeeVee commercials for 20 Mule Team Borax, awesome. I'm still curious about the demand for Borax that would lead someone to invest in 40 mules and start a mine in Death Valley. |
| Posted by: Mona Gorilla 2005-08-21 03:27 |
| #7 OT: Anyone else here old enough to remember 20 Mule Team Borax sponsoring the Late Movie? That was the first thing I thought of as I came across the mule train bit in the story. As you were. Sorry. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-21 03:11 |
| #6 Mule train!! (Hyah, hyah) Mule train!! Clippety cloppin' o'er the mountain chain Soon they're gonna reach the top, clippety clop, clippety clop Clippety, clippety, clippety, clippety, clippety cloppin' along There's some plastic boom and schrafnel for the folks in way-out-yonder A timer for a boomer who left SA to wander Some CD shills for the shaheen in the hills Get along, mule!! , get along Mule train!! (Hyah, hyah) Mule train!! Clippety cloppin' through the wind and rain They'll keep goin' till they drop, clippety clop, clippety clop Clippety, clippety, clippety, clippety, clippety cloppin' along There's a letter from some maddrass trimmed with black around the border A quart of toot for someone brewed to order A burka in the pack for the Ayatollah in the Sack Get along, mule! , get along Get along, mule, get along!! (mule train) |
| Posted by: abu Frankie Gorilla 2005-08-21 03:03 |
| #5 I believe the manifest was marked "Party Favors." |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2005-08-21 02:14 |
| #4 "a large mule train crossing the Syrian border" I'll bet there were wedding supplies in there, too. |
| Posted by: .com 2005-08-21 01:52 |
| #3 What puzzles me is why the enemy needs to smuggle fuel into Iraq in the first place. Seems like carrying coals to Newcastle. The answer may tell us a lot about the effectiveness on the battle against the "insurgents" that the astute MSM reporters have missed. |
| Posted by: GK 2005-08-21 01:40 |
| #2 I would imagine that it is something like a jerry can or a bladder-like container, TW. My best guess. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-08-21 00:37 |
| #1 Can someone define fuel pod for me in this context? Thanks! |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2005-08-21 00:21 |