5 more U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq today, page
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Topic started on 28-1-2008 @ 02:22 PM by DimensionalDetective

5 more U.S. Soldiers killed in Iraq today


www.reuters.com
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Five U.S. soldiers were killed in a coordinated ambush in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Monday, the U.S. military said, making it one of the deadliest single attacks against American forces in months.

The patrol was hit by a roadside bomb and then came under small arms fire, the military said, a day after extra Iraqi troops arrived for a final push against al Qaeda in what has been described as their last major urban stronghold.

Iraqi defense ministry spokesman Major-General Mohammed al- Askari said Iraq was studying the prospect of temporarily shutting the border with Syria as part of the offensive intended to stop foreign fighters joining al Qaeda.

"It would be a very important step to prevent al Qaeda from reinforcing its ranks from outside," Askari said, adding aircraft would monitor the frontier.

Violence has fallen sharply across Iraq, and Washington says attacks are down 60 percent since last June. But northern Iraq remains the biggest security worry after al Qaeda regrouped in Nineveh, of which Mosul is the capital, Salahuddin and Diyala provinces.

The U.S. military said in a statement that the five soldiers were all killed by the roadside bomb. Gunmen then opened fire on the rest of the patrol from a nearby mosque.

Iraqi troops entered the mosque, but the gunmen had fled, the military said.

Iraqi army and police also reported that fighting had broken out in the Haysuma neighborhood, a known al Qaeda stronghold in the east of the city, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad.
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reply posted on 28-1-2008 @ 02:37 PM by dbates
That's actually a big improvement. If 5 deaths is considered the largest and deadliest attack in months, then things have greatly improved. Of course no one wants anyone to die over there, but this is war. Deaths are to be expected and they do happen.

So what's the U.S. military casualty standing now. 4,000 and something I believe since 2003. A very low war-time loss rate. Shoot, there have been over 200,000 automobile deaths in the U.S. since the war started. Which occupation is more dangerous? War of course. Which occupation has better safety measures? War again.

All in all, this really isn't any sort of major news. We don't after all post a headline for every automobile accident fatality do we? I guess we're just used to that and accept it as a way of life. Uhm, I mean death. Military deaths make great cannon fodder for blasting your political opponents. I've seen this so many times I have to question the sincerity of stories like this.

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