U.S. outpost attacked after troops go to Baghdad
"In a rare coordinated assault on an American combat outpost north of Baghdad, suicide bombers drove one or more cars laden with explosives into the compound on Monday, while other insurgents opened fire in the ensuing chaos, according to witnesses and the American military. Two American soldiers were killed and at least 17 were wounded.
The brazen attack, which was followed by gun battles and an evacuation of the wounded by American helicopters, was almost surely the work of Sunni militants, most likely Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, according to American and Iraqi officials.
It appeared to be part of a renewed drive by insurgents in recent weeks as more American and Iraqi troops flood the streets of Baghdad and thousands of marines head to western Anbar Province to try to stem the violence. Hundreds of Iraqis have died in a recent wave of car bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere.
. . . A similar attack occurred last summer, when a suicide driver plowed a truck full of explosives into a military outpost near the town of Baghdadi, in Anbar Province, but that did not seem as coordinated as Monday’s assault." [1]
"The facility [was] a former Iraqi police station in the town of Tarmiyah.
. . . Tarmiyah, with about 150,000 residents, lies on one of the crucial routes to Baghdad, and U.S. forces and Sunni insurgents affiliated with the group al-Qaeda in Iraq have fought vigorously for control of the area. Insurgents had strengthened their grip on the town in recent months after the U.S. military moved a significant number of troops from the area to Baghdad. An Iraqi police unit trained in Jordan deserted last year after being threatened by insurgents.
'This is what happens when you clear and begin to hold, but leave before you finish the hold-and-build process,' a U.S. Army officer stationed nearby said Monday night, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'We created a vacuum, and al-Qaeda filled it. We lost the people's trust.' [2]
sources
[1] Santora, Marc. (The New York Times). Iraqi Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Outpost. February 20, 2007.
[2] Londono, Ernesto & Ricks, Thomas E. Ricks. (The Washington Post). Brazen Pre-Dawn Attack on U.S. Outpost in Iraq Kills 3, Injures 17. February 20, 2007.
posted: wednesday, february 21, 2007, 7:21 PM ET
update: wednesday, february 21, 2007, 7:55 PM ET
tags: iraq al qaeda insurgent surge
The brazen attack, which was followed by gun battles and an evacuation of the wounded by American helicopters, was almost surely the work of Sunni militants, most likely Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, according to American and Iraqi officials.
It appeared to be part of a renewed drive by insurgents in recent weeks as more American and Iraqi troops flood the streets of Baghdad and thousands of marines head to western Anbar Province to try to stem the violence. Hundreds of Iraqis have died in a recent wave of car bombings in Baghdad and elsewhere.
. . . A similar attack occurred last summer, when a suicide driver plowed a truck full of explosives into a military outpost near the town of Baghdadi, in Anbar Province, but that did not seem as coordinated as Monday’s assault." [1]
"The facility [was] a former Iraqi police station in the town of Tarmiyah.
. . . Tarmiyah, with about 150,000 residents, lies on one of the crucial routes to Baghdad, and U.S. forces and Sunni insurgents affiliated with the group al-Qaeda in Iraq have fought vigorously for control of the area. Insurgents had strengthened their grip on the town in recent months after the U.S. military moved a significant number of troops from the area to Baghdad. An Iraqi police unit trained in Jordan deserted last year after being threatened by insurgents.
'This is what happens when you clear and begin to hold, but leave before you finish the hold-and-build process,' a U.S. Army officer stationed nearby said Monday night, speaking on condition of anonymity. 'We created a vacuum, and al-Qaeda filled it. We lost the people's trust.' [2]
sources
[1] Santora, Marc. (The New York Times). Iraqi Militants Launch Attack on U.S. Outpost. February 20, 2007.
[2] Londono, Ernesto & Ricks, Thomas E. Ricks. (The Washington Post). Brazen Pre-Dawn Attack on U.S. Outpost in Iraq Kills 3, Injures 17. February 20, 2007.
posted: wednesday, february 21, 2007, 7:21 PM ET
update: wednesday, february 21, 2007, 7:55 PM ET
tags: iraq al qaeda insurgent surge
posted by eric at 6:55 PM
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