Seraphim
07-18-2003, 01:06 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/fc?tmpl=fc&cid=34&in=world&cat=iraq
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20030718/mdf318600.jpg
A U.S. Army convoy is backed up on an overpass after soldiers closed a highway connecting Baghdad's airport when an 'improvised explosive device' was discovered July 18, 2003. U.S. forces closed the highway Friday morning after the bomb was discovered on the median and then moved in to defuse it. (Faleh Kheiber/*******)
rofl rofl
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030718/capt.1058547120.iraq_saddam_xsd105.jpg
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division poses for a photograph on the toppled 30-foot statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) on horseback, in Tikrit, 180 km (110 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday July 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
FALLUJAH, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was killed Friday when a bomb detonated under a military convoy in which he was traveling in this violent city west of Baghdad, the Army said.
The 3rd Infantry Division soldier died of injuries in the midafternoon attack on the main Fallujah bridge over the Euphrates River, military spokeswoman Sgt. Amy Abbott said.
Earlier, a witness in Fallujah reported seeing four U.S. soldiers evacuated from the scene of the attack and said an American Humvee was badly damaged.
At the Pentagon (news - web sites), spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Diane Perry said the dead soldier was the only one hurt in the incident, which left a huge crater in the roadway. Perry said the convoy was eastbound near a traffic circle when the bomb exploded.
The attack took place about 3:30 p.m. after more than 24 hours during which the military had not reported any violence against American forces.
Fallujah police have been patrolling the city without U.S. escorts for about a week. Police complained they felt endangered by the presence of Americans, who had come under frequent attack in the "Sunni Triangle" town.
Resistance to the American occupation has been especially strong in the so-called triangle that stretches north and west from Baghdad. It is a stronghold of support for ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Earlier Friday, the U.S. military used plastic explosives to topple a 30-foot statue of Saddam on horseback from a pedestal in the dictator's hometown of Tikrit. Soldiers also defused a huge homemade bomb near Baghdad's airport.
Pvt. Reshaun Richardson of the 555th Combat Engineering brigade, known as the "Triple Nickel," pushed the button that sent the Saddam statue pitching over near the gate to his former palace compound in Tikrit.
"It felt real good," said Richardson, of Dothan, Ala. "There were lots of smiles around, and I had the biggest of them all."
The statue — depicting the ousted leader on a rearing horse and brandishing a sword — was made of solid bronze and stood near the main gate of the his huge palace complex.
The head of the statue was taken to 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Tikrit as a trophy, with the rest of the bronze to be shipped to Fort Hood, Texas, where it will be melted down and turned into a memorial, said Sgt. Maj. Gregory Glen of Baltimore.
Members of the 4th Infantry Division uncovered a huge weapons cache Wednesday night in a farmhouse outside Tikrit that included 250 assault rifles, 11,000 rocket-propelled grenade rounds and two tons of C4 explosives, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle of Great Falls, Mont.
The military considered destroying the statue on Thursday, the 35th anniversary of the coup that brought Saddam's Baath party to power.
"We thought about doing that, but it was more symbolic the day after because they (the Baathists) were supposed to come back," Aberle said, referring to rumors of attacks planned for the anniversary. "Well guess what, they are not coming back and the statue has come down."
In Baghdad, U.S. Army engineers on patrol spotted what they described as a large bomb in a burlap sack on the median strip of a highway near the airport. It was the same place where a military vehicle came under fire on Monday, killing a soldier and wounding four.
The bomb, inside a white burlap sack, had a 100-foot blast radius, said Lt. Robertrel Sachi of Columbus, Ohio.
Soldiers searched nearby houses but made no arrests. They planned to remove the bomb for a controlled detonation in a remote area.
"We blow that here, and we'll shatter every window for blocks around," Sachi said.
Several hours later, a large explosion rocked a site in southwestern Baghdad where the military often destroys ammunition.
___
Associated Press writer Niko Price contributed to this report from Baghdad.
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20030718/mdf318600.jpg
A U.S. Army convoy is backed up on an overpass after soldiers closed a highway connecting Baghdad's airport when an 'improvised explosive device' was discovered July 18, 2003. U.S. forces closed the highway Friday morning after the bomb was discovered on the median and then moved in to defuse it. (Faleh Kheiber/*******)
rofl rofl
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030718/capt.1058547120.iraq_saddam_xsd105.jpg
A soldier of the 4th Infantry Division poses for a photograph on the toppled 30-foot statue of Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) on horseback, in Tikrit, 180 km (110 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Friday July 18, 2003. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das)
By SAMEER N. YACOUB, Associated Press Writer
FALLUJAH, Iraq - A U.S. soldier was killed Friday when a bomb detonated under a military convoy in which he was traveling in this violent city west of Baghdad, the Army said.
The 3rd Infantry Division soldier died of injuries in the midafternoon attack on the main Fallujah bridge over the Euphrates River, military spokeswoman Sgt. Amy Abbott said.
Earlier, a witness in Fallujah reported seeing four U.S. soldiers evacuated from the scene of the attack and said an American Humvee was badly damaged.
At the Pentagon (news - web sites), spokeswoman Chief Petty Officer Diane Perry said the dead soldier was the only one hurt in the incident, which left a huge crater in the roadway. Perry said the convoy was eastbound near a traffic circle when the bomb exploded.
The attack took place about 3:30 p.m. after more than 24 hours during which the military had not reported any violence against American forces.
Fallujah police have been patrolling the city without U.S. escorts for about a week. Police complained they felt endangered by the presence of Americans, who had come under frequent attack in the "Sunni Triangle" town.
Resistance to the American occupation has been especially strong in the so-called triangle that stretches north and west from Baghdad. It is a stronghold of support for ousted dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).
Earlier Friday, the U.S. military used plastic explosives to topple a 30-foot statue of Saddam on horseback from a pedestal in the dictator's hometown of Tikrit. Soldiers also defused a huge homemade bomb near Baghdad's airport.
Pvt. Reshaun Richardson of the 555th Combat Engineering brigade, known as the "Triple Nickel," pushed the button that sent the Saddam statue pitching over near the gate to his former palace compound in Tikrit.
"It felt real good," said Richardson, of Dothan, Ala. "There were lots of smiles around, and I had the biggest of them all."
The statue — depicting the ousted leader on a rearing horse and brandishing a sword — was made of solid bronze and stood near the main gate of the his huge palace complex.
The head of the statue was taken to 4th Infantry Division headquarters in Tikrit as a trophy, with the rest of the bronze to be shipped to Fort Hood, Texas, where it will be melted down and turned into a memorial, said Sgt. Maj. Gregory Glen of Baltimore.
Members of the 4th Infantry Division uncovered a huge weapons cache Wednesday night in a farmhouse outside Tikrit that included 250 assault rifles, 11,000 rocket-propelled grenade rounds and two tons of C4 explosives, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle of Great Falls, Mont.
The military considered destroying the statue on Thursday, the 35th anniversary of the coup that brought Saddam's Baath party to power.
"We thought about doing that, but it was more symbolic the day after because they (the Baathists) were supposed to come back," Aberle said, referring to rumors of attacks planned for the anniversary. "Well guess what, they are not coming back and the statue has come down."
In Baghdad, U.S. Army engineers on patrol spotted what they described as a large bomb in a burlap sack on the median strip of a highway near the airport. It was the same place where a military vehicle came under fire on Monday, killing a soldier and wounding four.
The bomb, inside a white burlap sack, had a 100-foot blast radius, said Lt. Robertrel Sachi of Columbus, Ohio.
Soldiers searched nearby houses but made no arrests. They planned to remove the bomb for a controlled detonation in a remote area.
"We blow that here, and we'll shatter every window for blocks around," Sachi said.
Several hours later, a large explosion rocked a site in southwestern Baghdad where the military often destroys ammunition.
___
Associated Press writer Niko Price contributed to this report from Baghdad.