thedrifter
03-24-03, 06:34 AM
March 23, 2003
U.S. forces complete bloodiest day of Iraq war
By Robert Hodierne
Times staff writer
DOHA, Qatar (March 23, 2003) — Sunday started as badly as a day can start for the U.S. military: One of its own men threw a pair of grenades into a command tent, killing one fellow soldier and wounding 15 others.
From there, it just got worse.
An American Patriot missile battery shot down a British Tornado jet, and the plane and its two-man crew are missing.
The Iraqis ambushed U.S. Marines, firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a lightly armored vehicle, burning to death about 10 men.
The day in Iraq ended with Iraqi television showing four American POWs and the bodies of several more, members of a supply convoy that was ambushed. Twelve Americans from that convoy are missing.
Even the top brass could not come up with an accurate count of the dead Americans in Iraq — apparently about 18, plus the two Brits.
But the count still wasn’t complete. Word came from Afghanistan, that an Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crash killed six more U.S. personnel.
Sunday, March 23, 2003, became one of the bloodiest days of fighting for the American military since the Vietnam War.
At the daily press briefing, the mood was somber, but the command tried to put the losses in perspective.
“It’s the toughest day of resistance we’ve had thus far, but it’s also a day in which we have continued the attack in almost every area,” said Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, deputy chief of U.S. Central Command. “We understand that there may be other tough days ahead of us, but the outcome is still certain.
“You have to understand that in many conflicts in our nation’s history, and in the history of our coalition partners, there have been days much, much worse than this by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
It seems cruelly appropriate that a day as bloody as those from Vietnam should start with a fragging, the kind of attack that came to symbolize the dark days of that war.
Sunday’s attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. at the Kuwait headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). A sergeant from the 1st Brigade, also known as the 327th Infantry Regiment, allegedly lobbed two fragmentation grenades into the unit’s Tactical Operations Center tents and then opened up with small arms fire, said Staff Sgt. Mark Swart, a spokesman for the 101st.
George Heath, a civilian spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division at its home base of Fort Campbell, Ky., identified the alleged attacker as Sgt. Asan Akbar, assigned to the 326th Engineer Battalion. His age and hometown were unavailable.
Of the 16 soldiers injured, 11 were evacuated by helicopter. One soldier, whose name has not been released, died later of his injuries. Heath identified him as Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, from Pennsylvania. His hometown was not available.
Officials from the 101st would not release the names of the other casualties until their next of kin have been notified. The tactical operations center is usually occupied by the top commanders. The brigade commander was not killed in the attack.
Before the sun came up, an American Patriot anti-missile battery shot down a British Tornado GR4 attack aircraft on its way home from a bombing mission near Baghdad. By day’s end, British officials confirmed that both crew members had been killed.
Before the day was over, an Patriot missile shot down an Iraqi missile headed towards Kuwait, underscoring a point made by the British Maj. Gen. Peter Wall: “Were it not for Patriot, many more lives could have been lost.”
And the bombing could be viewed as a bright spot. Returning pilots report the amount and accuracy of anti-aircraft fire over Baghdad has slackened.
During the day, U.S. and Royal Marines trying to secure control of the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr had a series of brief firefights against isolated pockets of resistance. One was broadcast live for four hours on television. The TV audience watched as tanks and aircraft bombed and blasted a building to rubble.
But no TV audience was watching the fighting in An Nasiriyah, a major river crossing on the Euphrates. American forces have been sweeping north on the west side of the Euphrates in a dash toward Baghdad that went largely unopposed. The Americans wanted the bridges in and near An Nasiriyah. At An Nasiriyah and up river at As Samawah and An Najaf, the Iraqis threw up stiff resistance that caught the Americans off guard.
Small bands of enemy fighters in An Nasiriyah completed the Vietnam image: The roaming bands of secret police dress in black uniforms the Americans call black pajamas, Just like the Viet Cong.
In An Nasiriyah, a light armored vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, killing all the Marines inside. A reporter who saw the wreckage later said it burned completely.
Abiziad said he did not know how many Marines died in the fight. “Less than 10” was his best information. U.S. officials noted, however, that the bridge across the river was safely in American hands.
It was in the same area that a six-vehicle supply convoy from the 507th Maintenance Company apparently lost its way in An Nasiriyah and was ambushed. Again, accounts are contradictory and confusing. American officials say 12 soldiers are missing. Three or four wounded soldiers from the convoy survived and were later rescued.
The fate of some of the 12 became clear when Iraqi state television and the Arab network Al Jazeera broadcast video of four of the clearly terrified soldiers, now in captivity. The two stations also showed video of at least five dead soldiers on a concrete floor inside a building. Close-ups that clearly showed the faces also showed several that appeared to have bullet holes in their foreheads right between their eyes.
Then, in Afghanistan, where the war on terror continues out of the view of most television cameras, an Air Force HH-60 helicopter crashed while flying a medical evacuation mission, killing six more U.S. service members.
At his news briefing at the end of the mournful day, Abiziad said that despite the losses, “the enemy remains in grave danger and our victory is certain.”
Sempers,
Roger
U.S. forces complete bloodiest day of Iraq war
By Robert Hodierne
Times staff writer
DOHA, Qatar (March 23, 2003) — Sunday started as badly as a day can start for the U.S. military: One of its own men threw a pair of grenades into a command tent, killing one fellow soldier and wounding 15 others.
From there, it just got worse.
An American Patriot missile battery shot down a British Tornado jet, and the plane and its two-man crew are missing.
The Iraqis ambushed U.S. Marines, firing a rocket-propelled grenade into a lightly armored vehicle, burning to death about 10 men.
The day in Iraq ended with Iraqi television showing four American POWs and the bodies of several more, members of a supply convoy that was ambushed. Twelve Americans from that convoy are missing.
Even the top brass could not come up with an accurate count of the dead Americans in Iraq — apparently about 18, plus the two Brits.
But the count still wasn’t complete. Word came from Afghanistan, that an Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crash killed six more U.S. personnel.
Sunday, March 23, 2003, became one of the bloodiest days of fighting for the American military since the Vietnam War.
At the daily press briefing, the mood was somber, but the command tried to put the losses in perspective.
“It’s the toughest day of resistance we’ve had thus far, but it’s also a day in which we have continued the attack in almost every area,” said Lt. Gen. John Abizaid, deputy chief of U.S. Central Command. “We understand that there may be other tough days ahead of us, but the outcome is still certain.
“You have to understand that in many conflicts in our nation’s history, and in the history of our coalition partners, there have been days much, much worse than this by any stretch of the imagination,” he said.
It seems cruelly appropriate that a day as bloody as those from Vietnam should start with a fragging, the kind of attack that came to symbolize the dark days of that war.
Sunday’s attack occurred about 1:30 a.m. at the Kuwait headquarters of the 1st Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). A sergeant from the 1st Brigade, also known as the 327th Infantry Regiment, allegedly lobbed two fragmentation grenades into the unit’s Tactical Operations Center tents and then opened up with small arms fire, said Staff Sgt. Mark Swart, a spokesman for the 101st.
George Heath, a civilian spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division at its home base of Fort Campbell, Ky., identified the alleged attacker as Sgt. Asan Akbar, assigned to the 326th Engineer Battalion. His age and hometown were unavailable.
Of the 16 soldiers injured, 11 were evacuated by helicopter. One soldier, whose name has not been released, died later of his injuries. Heath identified him as Capt. Christopher Scott Seifert, 27, from Pennsylvania. His hometown was not available.
Officials from the 101st would not release the names of the other casualties until their next of kin have been notified. The tactical operations center is usually occupied by the top commanders. The brigade commander was not killed in the attack.
Before the sun came up, an American Patriot anti-missile battery shot down a British Tornado GR4 attack aircraft on its way home from a bombing mission near Baghdad. By day’s end, British officials confirmed that both crew members had been killed.
Before the day was over, an Patriot missile shot down an Iraqi missile headed towards Kuwait, underscoring a point made by the British Maj. Gen. Peter Wall: “Were it not for Patriot, many more lives could have been lost.”
And the bombing could be viewed as a bright spot. Returning pilots report the amount and accuracy of anti-aircraft fire over Baghdad has slackened.
During the day, U.S. and Royal Marines trying to secure control of the Iraqi port city of Umm Qasr had a series of brief firefights against isolated pockets of resistance. One was broadcast live for four hours on television. The TV audience watched as tanks and aircraft bombed and blasted a building to rubble.
But no TV audience was watching the fighting in An Nasiriyah, a major river crossing on the Euphrates. American forces have been sweeping north on the west side of the Euphrates in a dash toward Baghdad that went largely unopposed. The Americans wanted the bridges in and near An Nasiriyah. At An Nasiriyah and up river at As Samawah and An Najaf, the Iraqis threw up stiff resistance that caught the Americans off guard.
Small bands of enemy fighters in An Nasiriyah completed the Vietnam image: The roaming bands of secret police dress in black uniforms the Americans call black pajamas, Just like the Viet Cong.
In An Nasiriyah, a light armored vehicle was hit by a rocket propelled grenade, killing all the Marines inside. A reporter who saw the wreckage later said it burned completely.
Abiziad said he did not know how many Marines died in the fight. “Less than 10” was his best information. U.S. officials noted, however, that the bridge across the river was safely in American hands.
It was in the same area that a six-vehicle supply convoy from the 507th Maintenance Company apparently lost its way in An Nasiriyah and was ambushed. Again, accounts are contradictory and confusing. American officials say 12 soldiers are missing. Three or four wounded soldiers from the convoy survived and were later rescued.
The fate of some of the 12 became clear when Iraqi state television and the Arab network Al Jazeera broadcast video of four of the clearly terrified soldiers, now in captivity. The two stations also showed video of at least five dead soldiers on a concrete floor inside a building. Close-ups that clearly showed the faces also showed several that appeared to have bullet holes in their foreheads right between their eyes.
Then, in Afghanistan, where the war on terror continues out of the view of most television cameras, an Air Force HH-60 helicopter crashed while flying a medical evacuation mission, killing six more U.S. service members.
At his news briefing at the end of the mournful day, Abiziad said that despite the losses, “the enemy remains in grave danger and our victory is certain.”
Sempers,
Roger