70 Insurgents Killed in Mosque Battle

[Ghost of]

Read closely. The mosque was apparentlly not harmed, but that's my problem. It took an HOUR to approve this strike because of these stupid rules of engagement? I mean, I'm fine with using the Iraqi forces to go into the mosques to clear them out, but if a mass of the enemy are taking refuge near or in a mosque, it is fair game. Especially since so many of these mosques were responsible for ushering in the age of the "Islamic Republic of Fallujah."

Until we bomb mosques with the same enthusiasm that we levelled churches and cathedrals with, I fear for our future in this war.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/11/11/wirq11.xml&sSheet=/portal/2004/11/11/ixportaltop.html

American troops scored one of their biggest successes in the battle for Fallujah when an estimated 70 foreign fighters were killed in a massive precision artillery strike on a building in a mosque complex.

Military intelligence officers were last night trying to confirm that a "high-value target" or HVT died in the attack. The man is suspected of being a key lieutenant of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, and responsible for marshalling hard-line insurgence from other Arab countries.

The strike took place on Tuesday afternoon, less than 24 hours after the invasion of the rebel-held Sunni bastion began, after an Abrams tank commander from Phantom troop, part of the US Army's Task Force 2-2, observed large numbers of men converging on a building next to a mosque. "Guys with short brown hair, dark pants and carrying AK-47s were moving in groups of between two and five across the road to a yellow building," said Lt Neil Prakash, the tank commander.

"Then some started throwing Molotov ****tails and pouring gasoline on the road to create a smokescreen."

They apparently thought the smoke would obscure them from view.

Lt Prakash, whose call-sign is Red 6, observed the scene through the optical sight of his tank, 2,400 metres away in an "area of responsibility" or AOR covered by the 1st Company, 8th Marines, west of Task Force 2-2's AOR on the eastern edge of the city.

The constraints of firing into another AOR, where US marines might be operating, and the danger of damaging the mosque, which would have provoked outrage in the Arab world, meant attacking the building had to be authorised at a very senior level.

A Humvee from Phantom troop fitted with a Long Range Acquisition System (LRAS) was moved to within two kilometres of the mosque, well inside its maximum range of 15km, to get a second opinion on what was happening. "The strike was so sensitive that it took more than an hour to approve it," said Maj John Reynolds, operations officer for 2-2. "Normally it happens in minutes."

Lt Prakash was asked to provide a grid co-ordinate, accurate to within a metre, to minimise the chance of hitting the mosque, about 50 metres from the building.

At about 3pm, the higher authorisation came through and Lt Col Pete Newell, commanding 2-2 and with the call-sign Ramrod 6, gave the order to fire a barrage of 20 155mm high-explosive shells from howitzers about three miles away from the mosque.

Specialist James Taylor, manning the LRAS, watched the burst of shells hit.

"They landed on the left side of the building and I saw three bodies fly into the air," he said. "It was awesome."

Lt Prakash radioed that the rounds were right on target and requested 10 more to ensure maximum killing effect.

"One of the men was in a sniper position on the building," said Lt Prakash. "I saw him fall off, hit the ground and bounce up. There were about five bodies that went three, four, five storeys up in the air. I'd already counted between 40 and 50 men going into that building. There were men running out, coughing and doubling over. The second lot of rounds took them out and all those who had been crossing the road.

It is believed that Task Force 2-2 hit fighters gathered to discuss how to retreat after US forces had pushed the insurgents down from the north and in from the east.

Mobile phone intercepts and reports from Iraqi informants suggested there were 70 gunmen in the building and indicated that the very senior Zarqawi lieutenant had perished. A final assessment on who died has yet to be made.

"We are hearing reports saying that the enemy is withdrawing to a central place for a final stand," said Maj Reynolds. "It's like a Gettysburg. We have surrounded the whole area."

[SkinsFTW]

[jpillian]

Gotta love them LRAS A very cool article! Good find!

[CLiNT0N P0RTiS]

GO U.S.A!

[Fatty P For The Pulitzer]

It's a shame that there would be more of an outrage if the US blew up a mosque filled with terrorists than there is when a terrorist sets off a car bomb at a dedication ceremony in the middle of Baghdad which kills innocent women and children.

Gotta love hearing your soldiers say this:

Specialist James Taylor, manning the LRAS, watched the burst of shells hit.

"They landed on the left side of the building and I saw three bodies fly into the air," he said. "It was awesome."

[Cskin]

Wouldn't 2 MOABS strategically placed within the complex been easier? It's a mosque yes... but once they've begun using them as operational centers and ammunition storage facilities.... screw what the "Arab World" thinks and turn them into dust.