Roadside Bombs Kill Four U.S. Soldiers in Baghdad
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 13, 2004 – Improvised explosive devices killed four Task Force
Baghdad soldiers Oct. 12 and today, and an operation in Mosul netted 23
suspects and foiled another bomb attack, according to 1st Cavalry Division news
releases.
Three soldiers died in eastern Baghdad the night of Oct. 12 as the convoy they
were riding in passed by an IED. An IED killed a fourth soldier this morning in
western Baghdad. Both incidents are under investigation.
Improvised explosive devices are the biggest killer in Iraq. They range from
relatively unsophisticated trip-wire trigger mines to elaborate radio-
controlled devices. Complicating the situation is that insurgents are making
devices from the hundreds of thousands of pieces of ordnance left over from the
Saddam Hussein regime. "There is no one solution to the problem," said a DoD
official.
DoD is researching ways to counter the devices, both in country and in the
United States. Officials said when a promising technology or procedure is
developed, it is shared immediately among coalition forces in Iraq.
Soldiers and Marines in Iraq are developing tactics, techniques and procedures
to combat the threat. Again, commanders share any idea that works with all
members of the coalition.
But good intelligence is the best defense against the threat. Officials in Iraq
said that Iraqi citizens are turning in IED makers. Other Iraqis are telling
coalition forces where the IEDs are being planted.
Near Mosul, Iraqi security forces detected an IED in a trash bag. An Iraqi
explosive ordnance demolition team destroyed the device in place. There were no
casualties.
Also in Mosul, Iraqi National Guardsmen and soldiers of the Stryker Brigade
Combat Team detained 23 people wanted for anti-Iraqi activities during Oct. 12
raids.
A release from Iraq said that members of the 109th Iraqi National Guard
Battalion conducted a cordon-and-search operation in Tal Afar and detained 18
people wanted for planning and conducting attacks against Iraqi security forces
and multinational forces.
Members of the 101st Iraqi National Guard Battalion and Stryker Brigade
troopers also conducted a joint cordon-and-search operation in the Mosul
neighborhood of Sudeek. They detained five people wanted for planning and
conducting mortar attacks against military bases and intimidating local
civilians.
In Ramadi, Iraqi security forces – supported by U.S. Marines and soldiers –
searched seven mosques Oct. 12.
The Iraqis found bomb-making materials and insurgent propaganda. They detained
four suspects. "Our participation in these raids was limited to supporting
Iraqi Security Forces," said Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., 1st Marine
Division assistant division commander in a press release.
Ramadi is in the Sunni Triangle and insurgents in the area have used the
mosques as warehouses for weapons and explosives. The insurgents use mosques to
plan attacks and harbor terrorists. "These raids sent a clear message to the
insurgents that they can no longer use mosques as safe havens," said Dunford.
Under the rules of war, mosques are granted protective status because their
religious and cultural significance. However, once they are used for military
purposes they lose their protective status as places of religious worship.
Biography:
Marine Brig. Gen. Joseph F. Dunford Jr., Assistant
Commander, 1st Marine Division
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