thedrifter
05-13-05, 06:52 AM
Deadly risks lurk for Marines in western offensive
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By Solomon Moore
Los Angeles Times
May 13, 2005
ABU HARDAN, Iraq -- The Marines of Kilo Company were on the fourth day of an offensive to rid western Iraq of insurgents, but they had not seen much action Wednesday until a loud boom rocked this Euphrates River village, followed by the frantic screams of young troops.
They stopped their convoy and looked back to see an amphibious vehicle engulfed in flames. They knew that about 18 Marines from the Lima Company of the Third Battalion, 25th Regiment, were in the vehicle, which had apparently struck a roadside bomb.
Within minutes, the vehicle's gas tanks exploded, setting off mortars, grenades, bars of C-4 plastic explosives, and thousands of machine gun rounds inside. Rockets randomly shot out of the amphibious assault vehicle. The explosives crackled and thundered for the next hour.
Members of Kilo company, traveling 500 yards ahead of Lima, rushed to help rescue their comrades trapped inside the burning wreck. A Los Angeles Times reporter traveling with Kilo company followed them.
Some troops ran through thick black smoke and pulled out wounded men, lining up some of them within feet of the fire.
Some of the wounded suffered third-degree burns. Seared flesh hung from their bodies. Most of the wounded had severe burns on their arms and faces. Others had shrapnel wounds. A 3-inch piece of metal protruded from one Marine's abdomen.
Two Marines who survived the blast said they believed six US troops died in the vehicle. The military said yesterday that two Marines had been killed Wednesday.
Sergeant Dennis Wollard of Biloxi, Miss., who survived the explosion, sat glassy-eyed and bare-chested under a nearby building on the edge of the field. He lamented that he was not able to save all the men inside.
''I was at the back door," Wollard said. ''I couldn't get 'em all. There had to be six still in there. I don't know how they could have gotten out."
Another Marine, speaking with a senior officer, held back tears.
''I couldn't get to them all, sir. It was just too hot," he said, shaking his head.
About a half-hour after the explosion, two Black Hawk helicopters swooped down to take the wounded to the Marine base at Qaim near the Syrian border.
The Marines in Abu Hardan stood near the blast scene. Some seemed stunned. Others were angry.
''It was my fault, it was my fault," shouted a Marine who identified himself as the driver of the amphibious vehicle. He did not seem to have injuries.
The US military launched the major assault, called Operation Matador, on Sunday to rid remote western Iraqi villages of insurgents. Since the fighting began, Marines said they have killed as many as 100 insurgents. More than 1,000 US troops are participating in the offensive.
On the fifth day of the operation yesterday, fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at US forces, the Associated Press reported.
The Marines of Kilo Company had spent most of Wednesday sweeping through this village of farms and two-story stone houses. They wanted to take control of the Ramana Bridge, where earlier this week Marines took heavy fire from insurgents.
Immediately after entering the town, Marines discovered a house with a red van parked under a car port. Wires hung out from the gas tank, often a sign of a vehicle bomb.
''We took constant mortar fire from over here. Anybody who comes over that bridge gets lit up," said Third Platoon commander Lieutenant Joseph Clemmey, 26, of Worcester, Mass. ''This was supposed to be the mission from God, and so far we've been out here and we haven't seen nothing."
Two eight-wheeled, light-armored vehicles broke out of the convoy to train their heavy guns on the vehicle. A few moments later, the guns pounded the van into a heavy flame. The rounds burst holes through the front wall of a nearby house. A few blocks to the south, insurgent fighters fired on Marines. Marines manning tank-mounted machine guns fired back.
When the shooting stopped, Marines blared warnings in Arabic from loudspeakers on top of a Humvee, demanding that the village's residents leave their houses and surrender. Men in traditional dishdasha robes, women carrying babies, younger people in basketball shorts, and an old man bent over his walking stick emerged from their homes.
''Some people we didn't know came and entered our house and shot from the house. And then the Americans shoot at us," said Hassan Rashash, 53, a retired local government official who was sitting against the wall.
He was exasperated. ''We cannot go; this is our home. We fight them. We argue. We tell them, 'We have women, we have children.' But we cannot force them to go. What can we do?"
Ellie
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By Solomon Moore
Los Angeles Times
May 13, 2005
ABU HARDAN, Iraq -- The Marines of Kilo Company were on the fourth day of an offensive to rid western Iraq of insurgents, but they had not seen much action Wednesday until a loud boom rocked this Euphrates River village, followed by the frantic screams of young troops.
They stopped their convoy and looked back to see an amphibious vehicle engulfed in flames. They knew that about 18 Marines from the Lima Company of the Third Battalion, 25th Regiment, were in the vehicle, which had apparently struck a roadside bomb.
Within minutes, the vehicle's gas tanks exploded, setting off mortars, grenades, bars of C-4 plastic explosives, and thousands of machine gun rounds inside. Rockets randomly shot out of the amphibious assault vehicle. The explosives crackled and thundered for the next hour.
Members of Kilo company, traveling 500 yards ahead of Lima, rushed to help rescue their comrades trapped inside the burning wreck. A Los Angeles Times reporter traveling with Kilo company followed them.
Some troops ran through thick black smoke and pulled out wounded men, lining up some of them within feet of the fire.
Some of the wounded suffered third-degree burns. Seared flesh hung from their bodies. Most of the wounded had severe burns on their arms and faces. Others had shrapnel wounds. A 3-inch piece of metal protruded from one Marine's abdomen.
Two Marines who survived the blast said they believed six US troops died in the vehicle. The military said yesterday that two Marines had been killed Wednesday.
Sergeant Dennis Wollard of Biloxi, Miss., who survived the explosion, sat glassy-eyed and bare-chested under a nearby building on the edge of the field. He lamented that he was not able to save all the men inside.
''I was at the back door," Wollard said. ''I couldn't get 'em all. There had to be six still in there. I don't know how they could have gotten out."
Another Marine, speaking with a senior officer, held back tears.
''I couldn't get to them all, sir. It was just too hot," he said, shaking his head.
About a half-hour after the explosion, two Black Hawk helicopters swooped down to take the wounded to the Marine base at Qaim near the Syrian border.
The Marines in Abu Hardan stood near the blast scene. Some seemed stunned. Others were angry.
''It was my fault, it was my fault," shouted a Marine who identified himself as the driver of the amphibious vehicle. He did not seem to have injuries.
The US military launched the major assault, called Operation Matador, on Sunday to rid remote western Iraqi villages of insurgents. Since the fighting began, Marines said they have killed as many as 100 insurgents. More than 1,000 US troops are participating in the offensive.
On the fifth day of the operation yesterday, fierce clashes were reported with insurgents on the outskirts of Qaim, where angry residents lashed out at US forces, the Associated Press reported.
The Marines of Kilo Company had spent most of Wednesday sweeping through this village of farms and two-story stone houses. They wanted to take control of the Ramana Bridge, where earlier this week Marines took heavy fire from insurgents.
Immediately after entering the town, Marines discovered a house with a red van parked under a car port. Wires hung out from the gas tank, often a sign of a vehicle bomb.
''We took constant mortar fire from over here. Anybody who comes over that bridge gets lit up," said Third Platoon commander Lieutenant Joseph Clemmey, 26, of Worcester, Mass. ''This was supposed to be the mission from God, and so far we've been out here and we haven't seen nothing."
Two eight-wheeled, light-armored vehicles broke out of the convoy to train their heavy guns on the vehicle. A few moments later, the guns pounded the van into a heavy flame. The rounds burst holes through the front wall of a nearby house. A few blocks to the south, insurgent fighters fired on Marines. Marines manning tank-mounted machine guns fired back.
When the shooting stopped, Marines blared warnings in Arabic from loudspeakers on top of a Humvee, demanding that the village's residents leave their houses and surrender. Men in traditional dishdasha robes, women carrying babies, younger people in basketball shorts, and an old man bent over his walking stick emerged from their homes.
''Some people we didn't know came and entered our house and shot from the house. And then the Americans shoot at us," said Hassan Rashash, 53, a retired local government official who was sitting against the wall.
He was exasperated. ''We cannot go; this is our home. We fight them. We argue. We tell them, 'We have women, we have children.' But we cannot force them to go. What can we do?"
Ellie