thedrifter
01-02-07, 03:17 PM
Soldier killed by marine
Permanent link | no responses | Published on: Wednesday, 3rd January, 2007
A US marine killed an Iraqi soldier after a row at a combined security post in the former Sunni rebel bastion of Fallujah, the US military revealed yesterday. The incident had occurred on Saturday when the two had an altercation at a post at the Fallujah government centre in the restive province of Al-Anbar. "The naval criminal investigative service has initiated a criminal investigation," the military said.
The marine - who has been assigned to administrative duties - was from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, while the Iraqi soldier was from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division. US marines and Iraqi soldiers have manned combined security posts since the arrival of the marine unit several months ago in Fallujah.
"Marines and Iraqis from the two units continue to live, eat, and fight alongside each other," said coalition spokesman Marine Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Salas. "This will not impact our mission to continue the transition of the security responsibility to the Iraqi Army." There are currently 700 police and 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in Fallujah and only 300 marines compared to March 2005 when there were 3,000 marines and only 300 members of the Iraqi security forces.
Fallujah, once the symbol of Sunni-led anti-US insurgency, was captured by US troops after a major assault in November 2004. Meanwhile, a bomb hidden in a pile of garbage went off yesterday in eastern Baghdad, killing three civilians and wounding seven more, security officials said. The incident occurred in Baghdad’s mixed Shia-Sunni neighbourhood of Khamsara, they added.
Photos of the blast taken by AFP indicated that the bomb was hidden in a pile of garbage and the explosion severely damaged a nearby house. In another incident, gunmen abducted six members of a family in Madaen, south of Baghdad, early yesterday, security officials said. Their whereabout was still unknown.
In further violence, a roadside bomb killed a US soldier south of Baghdad, making him the first casualty of 2007, the military reported yesterday. The attack took place on Monday as a patrol was moving through a village "talking to residents about the sectarian violence in the area," the military said. "As the patrol conducted their mission, a roadside bomb exploded near one of their vehicles, killing one soldier and wounding three others including an interpreter."
The soldier’s death marked the first US fatality of 2007 after 110 servicemen were killed in December 2006, making it the deadliest month for the military in more than two years.
Ellie
Permanent link | no responses | Published on: Wednesday, 3rd January, 2007
A US marine killed an Iraqi soldier after a row at a combined security post in the former Sunni rebel bastion of Fallujah, the US military revealed yesterday. The incident had occurred on Saturday when the two had an altercation at a post at the Fallujah government centre in the restive province of Al-Anbar. "The naval criminal investigative service has initiated a criminal investigation," the military said.
The marine - who has been assigned to administrative duties - was from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 5, while the Iraqi soldier was from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Iraqi Army Division. US marines and Iraqi soldiers have manned combined security posts since the arrival of the marine unit several months ago in Fallujah.
"Marines and Iraqis from the two units continue to live, eat, and fight alongside each other," said coalition spokesman Marine Lieutenant Colonel Bryan Salas. "This will not impact our mission to continue the transition of the security responsibility to the Iraqi Army." There are currently 700 police and 3,000 Iraqi soldiers in Fallujah and only 300 marines compared to March 2005 when there were 3,000 marines and only 300 members of the Iraqi security forces.
Fallujah, once the symbol of Sunni-led anti-US insurgency, was captured by US troops after a major assault in November 2004. Meanwhile, a bomb hidden in a pile of garbage went off yesterday in eastern Baghdad, killing three civilians and wounding seven more, security officials said. The incident occurred in Baghdad’s mixed Shia-Sunni neighbourhood of Khamsara, they added.
Photos of the blast taken by AFP indicated that the bomb was hidden in a pile of garbage and the explosion severely damaged a nearby house. In another incident, gunmen abducted six members of a family in Madaen, south of Baghdad, early yesterday, security officials said. Their whereabout was still unknown.
In further violence, a roadside bomb killed a US soldier south of Baghdad, making him the first casualty of 2007, the military reported yesterday. The attack took place on Monday as a patrol was moving through a village "talking to residents about the sectarian violence in the area," the military said. "As the patrol conducted their mission, a roadside bomb exploded near one of their vehicles, killing one soldier and wounding three others including an interpreter."
The soldier’s death marked the first US fatality of 2007 after 110 servicemen were killed in December 2006, making it the deadliest month for the military in more than two years.
Ellie