thedrifter
10-04-06, 08:13 AM
S.A. soldier killed by sniper in Iraq
Web Posted: 10/04/2006 07:45 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
A soldier from San Antonio was one of eight U.S. service members killed in Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said — the most in the Iraqi capital in a day since July 2005.
Four of the soldiers died in a roadside bomb attack; four others were killed by small-arms fire in separate incidents. A ninth soldier died Sunday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb west of the capital, the Defense Department announced.
Staff Sgt. Joe A. Narvaez, 25, was killed by a sniper while clearing an area and inspecting two dead Iraqis, Fort Sam Houston public affairs officer Phil Reidinger said.
Narvaez was a 2000 graduate of Kennedy High School, where he played football for three years.
The Kennedy football coach recalled a young man respected by teammates and coaches alike.
"He gave us everything he had," Richard Cerda said. "He was a leader on the field and off the field. One time in practice, things weren't going right, but he stood up with a big smile on his face and said, 'Hey, it's going to be all right.'
"It's very hard and very sad to hear what happened."
Narvaez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Schweinfurt, Germany.
A soldier from Fort Hood also was identified Tuesday.
Cpl. Chase Haag, 22, of Portland, Ore., died Sunday when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle.
Haag was a member of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood.
Monday's death toll represented one of the highest overall body counts for U.S. troops in Iraq in the past year.
In late August, nine soldiers and a Marine were killed in a single day. But before that, the last time eight or more soldiers were killed in hostile action was last November.
"Obviously this was a tragic day, with eight killed in 24 hours," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman.
The deadly day set back efforts by U.S. and Iraqi troops to tame the sectarian violence that continues to besiege the capital.
Since August, the military has made securing Baghdad a priority, pouring in additional troops and conducting neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps of some of the most dangerous areas.
But the violence has continued, spiking over the past week amid of the holy month of Ramadan.
Military officials said last week that suicide bombings in Baghdad were at a record.
At least 17 soldiers and Marines have been killed since Saturday, most in Baghdad or Anbar province, where fierce fighting continues between Marines and Sunni insurgents.
According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, a group that compiles figures based on information from the U.S. military, 74 soldiers and Marines were killed in Iraq in September, the highest number since April, when 76 died.
The violence also claimed the lives of 51 civilians across the country Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
In the capital, a blast just before 7 a.m. at a fish market in Saidiya, in the southwest, killed two people and wounded 10, an Interior Ministry official said.
Just 15 minutes later, a mortar attack in Dora, a neighborhood in southern Baghdad that U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying to secure, killed two civilians and wounded five others, the official said.
On orders from Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a high-ranking police commander was suspended Tuesday and taken into custody pending an investigation into a brazen kidnapping of 26 food-processing workers in western Baghdad.
The bodies of at least 10 were found shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, Sunni politicians expressed worries over a new government plan to stop sectarian violence.
The plan, announced a day earlier by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, won some praise in parliament Tuesday. But Shiite and Sunni leaders delayed potentially contentious talks to work out its details.
Many Sunnis remain skeptical that Shiite leaders will allow security forces to crack down more strongly on Shiite militias blamed for killing Sunnis — including some linked to parties in the government.
Express-News Staff Writer Vincent T. Davis, the New York Times and Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ellie
Web Posted: 10/04/2006 07:45 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
A soldier from San Antonio was one of eight U.S. service members killed in Baghdad on Monday, the U.S. military said — the most in the Iraqi capital in a day since July 2005.
Four of the soldiers died in a roadside bomb attack; four others were killed by small-arms fire in separate incidents. A ninth soldier died Sunday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb west of the capital, the Defense Department announced.
Staff Sgt. Joe A. Narvaez, 25, was killed by a sniper while clearing an area and inspecting two dead Iraqis, Fort Sam Houston public affairs officer Phil Reidinger said.
Narvaez was a 2000 graduate of Kennedy High School, where he played football for three years.
The Kennedy football coach recalled a young man respected by teammates and coaches alike.
"He gave us everything he had," Richard Cerda said. "He was a leader on the field and off the field. One time in practice, things weren't going right, but he stood up with a big smile on his face and said, 'Hey, it's going to be all right.'
"It's very hard and very sad to hear what happened."
Narvaez was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division at Schweinfurt, Germany.
A soldier from Fort Hood also was identified Tuesday.
Cpl. Chase Haag, 22, of Portland, Ore., died Sunday when an improvised explosive device exploded near his vehicle.
Haag was a member of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Fort Hood.
Monday's death toll represented one of the highest overall body counts for U.S. troops in Iraq in the past year.
In late August, nine soldiers and a Marine were killed in a single day. But before that, the last time eight or more soldiers were killed in hostile action was last November.
"Obviously this was a tragic day, with eight killed in 24 hours," said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a military spokesman.
The deadly day set back efforts by U.S. and Iraqi troops to tame the sectarian violence that continues to besiege the capital.
Since August, the military has made securing Baghdad a priority, pouring in additional troops and conducting neighborhood-by-neighborhood sweeps of some of the most dangerous areas.
But the violence has continued, spiking over the past week amid of the holy month of Ramadan.
Military officials said last week that suicide bombings in Baghdad were at a record.
At least 17 soldiers and Marines have been killed since Saturday, most in Baghdad or Anbar province, where fierce fighting continues between Marines and Sunni insurgents.
According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty Count, a group that compiles figures based on information from the U.S. military, 74 soldiers and Marines were killed in Iraq in September, the highest number since April, when 76 died.
The violence also claimed the lives of 51 civilians across the country Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
In the capital, a blast just before 7 a.m. at a fish market in Saidiya, in the southwest, killed two people and wounded 10, an Interior Ministry official said.
Just 15 minutes later, a mortar attack in Dora, a neighborhood in southern Baghdad that U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying to secure, killed two civilians and wounded five others, the official said.
On orders from Interior Minister Jawad Bolani, a high-ranking police commander was suspended Tuesday and taken into custody pending an investigation into a brazen kidnapping of 26 food-processing workers in western Baghdad.
The bodies of at least 10 were found shortly afterward.
Meanwhile, Sunni politicians expressed worries over a new government plan to stop sectarian violence.
The plan, announced a day earlier by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, won some praise in parliament Tuesday. But Shiite and Sunni leaders delayed potentially contentious talks to work out its details.
Many Sunnis remain skeptical that Shiite leaders will allow security forces to crack down more strongly on Shiite militias blamed for killing Sunnis — including some linked to parties in the government.
Express-News Staff Writer Vincent T. Davis, the New York Times and Associated Press contributed to this report.
Ellie