thedrifter
04-12-06, 02:01 PM
April 12, 2006
Marine shot by Iraqi soldier identified
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
The Defense Department has identified the Marine who was shot by an Iraqi army soldier near Qaim, Iraq, last Thursday.
Lance Cpl. Bryan N. Taylor, 20, from Milford, Ohio, was serving with the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion when he was shot at the small military post in western Iraq, a 1st Marine Division spokesman confirmed.
Marines returned fire, seriously wounding the Iraqi, who was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, the spokesman said.
The Iraqi was evacuated to a U.S. medical facility in Balad in “very serious condition,” an April 7 U.S. Central Command release said.
Marines who control security operations in Iraq’s western Anbar province work closely with the fledgling Iraqi army, integrating the mostly Shiite troops into their own platoons and conducting operations alongside them. Taylor and his unit had been living with the Iraqi troops for a month.
Military commanders have said that building a competent and trustworthy Iraqi army is key to an eventual U.S. exit from Iraq.
A DoD statement countered any notion that the shooting would have an impact on the Marines’ relationship with Iraqi soldiers.
“Just as we as American military men and women trust one another with our lives, we also trust our Iraqi counterparts, and that trust has not wavered,” a U.S. military statement explained. “We will not let this isolated incident deter us in our mission to train and mentor the Iraqi security forces as they progress toward independent operations to ensure the security of their nation.”
The incident is under investigation, a Pentagon release said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rest In Peace
Ellie
Marine shot by Iraqi soldier identified
By Christian Lowe
Times staff writer
The Defense Department has identified the Marine who was shot by an Iraqi army soldier near Qaim, Iraq, last Thursday.
Lance Cpl. Bryan N. Taylor, 20, from Milford, Ohio, was serving with the Camp Lejeune, N.C.-based 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion when he was shot at the small military post in western Iraq, a 1st Marine Division spokesman confirmed.
Marines returned fire, seriously wounding the Iraqi, who was a member of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 7th Iraqi Army Division, the spokesman said.
The Iraqi was evacuated to a U.S. medical facility in Balad in “very serious condition,” an April 7 U.S. Central Command release said.
Marines who control security operations in Iraq’s western Anbar province work closely with the fledgling Iraqi army, integrating the mostly Shiite troops into their own platoons and conducting operations alongside them. Taylor and his unit had been living with the Iraqi troops for a month.
Military commanders have said that building a competent and trustworthy Iraqi army is key to an eventual U.S. exit from Iraq.
A DoD statement countered any notion that the shooting would have an impact on the Marines’ relationship with Iraqi soldiers.
“Just as we as American military men and women trust one another with our lives, we also trust our Iraqi counterparts, and that trust has not wavered,” a U.S. military statement explained. “We will not let this isolated incident deter us in our mission to train and mentor the Iraqi security forces as they progress toward independent operations to ensure the security of their nation.”
The incident is under investigation, a Pentagon release said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Rest In Peace
Ellie