Eight US soldiers among 17 killed in Iraq

[Robbien]

BAGHDAD: Eight US soldiers and nine Iraqis were killed in continued violence across the country on Monday. Insurgents gunned down four US service members west of Baghdad.

A videotape delivered to Associated Press Television News showed four Americans in uniform lying dead in what appeared to be a walled compound in Ramadi, 100 kilometres west of Baghdad. One of the Americans was slumped in the corner of the wall. The bodies had no flak vests, mandatory for US troops operating in contested areas, and at least one was missing a boot. One fieldpack was left open next to a body as if the attackers had looted the dead before fleeing.

Brig Gen Mark Kimmitt, coalition deputy operations chief, confirmed the killings but gave a few details. He said that a US quick reaction force found the bodies after the troops failed to report to their headquarters as required.

Separately, four US Marines were killed in action in Al-Anbar province, the US military said. "Four US Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed on the 21st of June in the Al-Anbar province conducting security and stability operations," a spokesman said, reading a statement. The Marines never reveal details about how their troops are killed.

http://www.hipakistan.com/en/detail.php?newsId=en68507&F_catID=&f_type=source

posting this article from a Pakistan site because it is the only one which added up all the deaths today. It has been confusing trying to figure out what today's human cost was.

[dArKeR]

1. If you've been keeping track, I've never seen this attack clarified

who the '21 people' were? Soldiers, Special Forces, civilians...? The story quoted 'an Iraqi couple' were among those taken to a hospital but never even remotely hinted to who the others were.

---------------------------

Rocket Strike On U.S. Base In Iraq - CBS

A rocket slammed into a U.S. logistics base near the city of Balad on Wednesday afternoon, killing two U.S. soldiers and wounding 21 people, the military said.

Fourteen of the injured were taken to the U.S. Army's 31st Combat Support Hospital and seven were treated at a clinic on the U.S. base, known as Camp Anaconda, according to a military statement.

Balad is 50 miles north of Baghdad.

The rocket attack follows a series of incidents this week targeting Iraq's infrastructure and the civilians working to repair it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml

MSGOP (same story no new info)
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5225026/

[Robbien]

2. Well, this source from China said those 21 wounded were soldiers

There was some confusion between whether 21 or 23 were wounded, but two difference may be that Iraqi couple you mention. Since the military doesn't count Iraqi, that should clear up the difference between the 21 and 23 counts.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-06/17/content_1531559.htm

[dArKeR]

3. That's amazing you found this source! I can't believe the Western Whore

press, especially American, can't clearly publish what happened. It seems to me even the Chinese version plays with words. It's not really clear if the 'others' were military and from which nation. And if it were 21 American soldiers wounded and 3 dead total of 24 in one hit that this would have been bigger news than the very little coverage then disappearance this story got.

Thanks a bunch!

[VolcanoJen]

4. What in freaking hell....???!!!????

I'm completely confused. I've remained in this state since this insanity began. :-(

[saigon68]

7. 'BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

and "Bring it On" did the Iraqi Resistance.

Its a Guerrilla War.

A few here a few there

Day after day

Week after week

Month after month

Year after year.

[Redleg]

21. LOL! (and worrying a bit for our GIs).

Iraq will turn into our Afghanistan. No, wait- we already have our Afghanistan.

[Aidoneus]

5. actually, it is 10

4 in Ramadi (discovered in a video sent to news orgs by the resistance, shown abandoned and stripped of much equipment and confirmed by Kimmett), 4 from the 1MEF in "Anbar province" (the Marines never elaborate anymore, though that's usually officerspeak for some attempt to re-enter Fallujah and being blasted for it), 1 in a mortar attack in north-central Baghdad (not sure which suburb, with that description it is either in the 'Sunni' resistance base of Azamiyah, or 'Shia' neighborhoods of Kazimiyah or Madinat al-Sadr--all basically no-go areas for the occupyers), and 1 died just outside of Baqouba of wounds inflicted on Friday.

[markses]

12. The 4 in Ramadi ARE the 4 Marines

This is just about the sloppiest piece of journalism I've ever seen!

[Aidoneus]

17. oh..

I've seen them described seperately elsewhere, not just here. That would be 6, then, or technically 5 from the day with one 'carryover'. If the Marines weren't so damn tightlipped about things, the sort wouldn't be a source of confusion.

[markses]

18. The CENTCOM press release says ar-Ramadi

That's cuz we already know. Otherwise it would say "in al-Anbar Province" like it usually does (ar-Ramadi is, of course, in al-Anbar province).

[Aidoneus]

19. I stand overwhemingly corrected

Centcom itself is quite clear about it this time.

[markses]

20. Sorry for the hyper-correction

I've been trying to keep careful track, and I think posts like these can be sloppy and confuse people. My bad.

[Aidoneus]

24. s'ok

being as accurate as possible is a good enough reason.

Now shut the fuck up and go away. :) (didn't get to say that yesterday, don't want to feel left out..)

[patth]

6. Senate Backs Ban on Photos of G.I. Coffins

What are the names of the 7
democrats that voted with the Republican majority?



Senate Backs Ban on Photos of G.I. Coffins
By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG

Published: June 22, 2004

WASHINGTON, June 21 - The Bush administration's policy of barring news photographs of the flag-covered coffins of service members killed in Iraq won the backing of the Republican-controlled Senate on Monday, when lawmakers defeated a Democratic measure to instruct the Pentagon to allow pictures.

The 54-to-39 vote came after little formal debate, with 7 Democrats joining 47 Republicans to defeat the provision.

Two Republicans, Senators Olympia J. Snowe of Maine and John McCain of Arizona, voted in favor of permitting news photographers to have access to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where coffins containing the war dead from Iraq arrive."

[Jacobin]

8. One of the Dems was Mary Landrieu, my senator

I sent her a blistering email. I can't believe these people.

[Dhalgren]

9. We currently have (+/-) 846 dead US soldiers.

When will it reach 1000? What's the magic number, or is there one? At what point do even the callous American public say, "Enough!"?

[Windy]

15. http://www.icasualties.org

This website lists all casualties and injuries from the war and is updated daily. Is so disheartening...

[mbperrin]

10. Strange, ain't it? They couldn't WAIT to get Raygun's

flag covered coffin out there and fly it all around the country and show if off on several days, eh?

Well, of course, he's IMPORTANT!

Fuck these disrespectful wasters of human lives!!!!

[newyawker99]

25. Hi patth!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[catmandu57]

11. Shit, now I'm confused again

I know they don't want to report casualties this month, I feel like I'm being flim flammed, it's this many, no it's this many. Dazed and confused seems to be the sop, my count was 848, but now I don't know. Personally, I believe we passed 1000 a long time ago, they've hidden the bodies, using enron accounting.
I thought that people would start to take notice at 500, and a few did, I don't know if any more people will wake up at 1000, it takes casualties on a mass scale to get people to notice anything.
They must be to busy thanking gw* for the .25 cent reduction in gasoline over the last month.
Fuck you gw mcchimp* may you burn in your born again hell with all the oil you and your henchmen steal.

Welcome to DU Patth, I wish it were under happier circumstances.

[markses]

13. Here's where the HiPakistan article gets it (deliberately?) wrong

The four "soldiers" killed in Ramadi ARE the four Marines killed in al-Anbar province. Same four people. This article pretends like these are two different incidents. They are not. It is the same incident. The article writer is being deliberatelky duplicitous about that.

[llmart]

22. I saw a crawl on CNN this morning....

that said over 900+ were killed. What to believe.???

[markses]

14. WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG: 4 dead in Ramadi = 4 Marines

"Separately, four US Marines were killed in action in Al-Anbar province..."

A straight out lie. The four Marines killed in al-Anbar province are the same as the four servicepeople killed in Ramadi. It is the same incident, not "separate-ly" as this artiocle falsely claims. Just a straight up and obvious lie by the article's author.

[daleo]

16. I am not surprised they took the body armor

That must be tactically valuable, although woe to the Iraqi resistance that is captured by marines wearing it.

Also, checking the field pack may be considered looting, but isn't this also fairly standard procedure to identify unit of the enemy casualty or any other military intelligence that may be useful. After all, we usually hear about ID, or the lack of it, on Iraqi bodies after a U.S. strike.

It seems odd that a marine group would consist of only 4 people.

[Name removed]

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