There were a lot more foreigners in that city than a lot of people are giving credit for, right now." And then we found out that there was a number of foreigners. So, we had to go back, have some experts look at those IDs we had recovered from previous dead guys or previous detainees and take a real look at those ID cards and see if they were fake ID’s. It’s Arabic but it's not Iraqi dialect.’ As we quickly found, with, like, one Iraqi ID making factory and the foreigners that we did catch, all of them said the same thing, no matter what country they came from, as soon as they came across the border in Iraq, they got issued an Iraqi ID. It was difficult to determine how many foreigners were in the fight.Ĭaptain Jeff McCormack, 3/1's Intel Officer: "It was initially tough because we’d detain somebody or kill somebody and they had an Iraqi ID card on it so everyone was ‘Oh, he’s Iraqi, he’s Iraqi.’ It was really our linguists who, you know, they're not American but they're Iraqis and they’d be like, 'No, this guy’s - that’s not Iraqi dialect, that’s Syrian', or, 'I’m not even sure what that guy’s saying. Many wore U.S.-style body armor, vests, Kevlar helmets, and U.S. To counter this tactic, he stressed that before entering a suspected insurgent strongpoint, the clearing team should use hand grenades, machine gun fire, TOW missiles, tank main gun fire and, if necessary, bombs, satchel charges, or D9 bulldozer demolition to eliminate the threat.Ī regimental report noted that the bulk of the fighters seemed to be Iraqis with some foreign fighters mixed in. What the enemy wants us to do is enter into these houses and then they have the first room, they have mouse holes from the top to the sides, the back, and their firing to kill that first Marine and then the fight’s on, because they know the Marines will rescue their first Marine." The fighting in the city had turned into a house-to-house brawl.Ĭolonel Mike Shupp was concerned: "The enemy’s not coming out for tanks, and we are firing multiple tank rounds into these positions and SMAWs into these positions, and it’s not working. The FSC approved an air and artillery strike against them. The regimental fire-support coordination center (FSC) reported that a Scan Eagle UAV live video feed showed 30 insurgents congregating in three buildings. And, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines battle it out in, what becomes known as, the infamous "Hell House". Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry lose their commander in a deadly ambush inside a house. 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry encounter civilians trying to escape their homes. 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines get into a brutal firefight in a house in their zone. 1st Battalion, 8th Marines is tasked with seizing three major buildings south of the Mayor's Complex.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |