Morning Heat
It's 2AM Sunday morning in Tal Afar and a Stryker patrol is making it's way cautiously and quietly through the streets. All has been quiet during the sultry August night and very soon this four vehicle patrol will be heading back to the FOB. Civilians have moved from the sweltering heat of their homes to the relative cool of the roof tops and lay sleeping on cushions and mats.
The line of Strykers moves down the street between the mosque and the nearby police station. Suddenly a total of eight rocket propelled grenades streak out of the night. A well coordinated ambush has just been sprung on the Stryker column. One RPG streaks out from the police station and the others from the mosque. None of the RPG's fired hit the Strykers but explode in the street and against nearby homes. 37 civilians, sleeping on the roof tops, are injured by shrapnel, glass and debris during the RPG explosions, 26 of them women and children.
The Strykers return fire "appropriately and proportionately" as stated in the Rules of Engagement. They direct fire away from the mosque and try to target only the attackers on the police station side of the street. As quickly as it started the skirmish is over, the Stryker commander radios the incident back to headquarters, "click marks" the map on the computer GPS system for this location, assists with security as the local emergency authorities transport and treat the wounded and then they continue on home. It's now 5 AM.
Not to be out smarted by a rag tag group of Iraqi insurgents the Stryker patrol outbound from the FOB drops off a sniper team at 6 AM just before entering the area of the mosque that saw the earlier action. The team silently and quickly establish themselves in an over watch position near the mosque. As the four Stryker vehicles move down the street towards the mosque a second attack is initiated by the insurgents as a single RPG narrowly misses its target, striking a home on the far side of the street.
Again, the Stryker team uses "appropriate and proportionate" force against the attackers. The sniper team, using a Remington sniper rifle, "pops" the RPG gunner and his loader as they are loading the second round in the RPG launcher. The Stryker Soldiers dismount and do a search of the area, question local civilians and ask for any assistance or information which would help security forces apprehend the attackers from earlier in the morning.
The Iraqi civilians are extremely valuable sources of information and will do their best to give the translators as much information as possible. This Sunday morning is no different and the HUMINT (Human Intelligence) team, which also accompanied the Stykers returning to the vicinity, is able to gather enough information to warrant a cordon and search sweep of the neighborhood.
A bit later, the cordon and search by Iraqi National Guard forces, with Stryker support, detains 6 suspected insurgents and results in the capture of several RPG launchers and AK-47 rifles. (The official documentation says "suspected" insurgents. Hmmm?) The ING forces take credit for another capture which brings about more trust from the civilian population of Tal Afar.
No US forces were injured and no vehicles damaged in Sunday morning's action - which is always a very good thing.
The line of Strykers moves down the street between the mosque and the nearby police station. Suddenly a total of eight rocket propelled grenades streak out of the night. A well coordinated ambush has just been sprung on the Stryker column. One RPG streaks out from the police station and the others from the mosque. None of the RPG's fired hit the Strykers but explode in the street and against nearby homes. 37 civilians, sleeping on the roof tops, are injured by shrapnel, glass and debris during the RPG explosions, 26 of them women and children.
The Strykers return fire "appropriately and proportionately" as stated in the Rules of Engagement. They direct fire away from the mosque and try to target only the attackers on the police station side of the street. As quickly as it started the skirmish is over, the Stryker commander radios the incident back to headquarters, "click marks" the map on the computer GPS system for this location, assists with security as the local emergency authorities transport and treat the wounded and then they continue on home. It's now 5 AM.
Not to be out smarted by a rag tag group of Iraqi insurgents the Stryker patrol outbound from the FOB drops off a sniper team at 6 AM just before entering the area of the mosque that saw the earlier action. The team silently and quickly establish themselves in an over watch position near the mosque. As the four Stryker vehicles move down the street towards the mosque a second attack is initiated by the insurgents as a single RPG narrowly misses its target, striking a home on the far side of the street.
Again, the Stryker team uses "appropriate and proportionate" force against the attackers. The sniper team, using a Remington sniper rifle, "pops" the RPG gunner and his loader as they are loading the second round in the RPG launcher. The Stryker Soldiers dismount and do a search of the area, question local civilians and ask for any assistance or information which would help security forces apprehend the attackers from earlier in the morning.
The Iraqi civilians are extremely valuable sources of information and will do their best to give the translators as much information as possible. This Sunday morning is no different and the HUMINT (Human Intelligence) team, which also accompanied the Stykers returning to the vicinity, is able to gather enough information to warrant a cordon and search sweep of the neighborhood.
A bit later, the cordon and search by Iraqi National Guard forces, with Stryker support, detains 6 suspected insurgents and results in the capture of several RPG launchers and AK-47 rifles. (The official documentation says "suspected" insurgents. Hmmm?) The ING forces take credit for another capture which brings about more trust from the civilian population of Tal Afar.
No US forces were injured and no vehicles damaged in Sunday morning's action - which is always a very good thing.
posted by deesci | 10:46 PM
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