Yesterday...cont'd

Hello to everyone again! Thank you for your continued support that you show to my brother and I.

I'll get to this kinda quickly. Usually if something happens and I want to talk about it, but I can't... I can't. And I usually reference the phrase, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Well, you want to know what happened yesterday? Here it is. This is not my recollection of yesterday's events, this is how it was reported to you. I wasn't there for the actual fire fight, I only saw the aftermath. You can read the following report and know what brought 7 Soldiers to the hospital for treatment. Basically you get half the story. My half, the part I was involved with, I still can't tell you. I'll let your imagination take you where it wants. It wasn't pretty, I will say that. Enough delay, here's what happened:

Associated Press
updated 8:17 p.m. ET, Wed., Nov. 12, 2008

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi soldier Wednesday sprayed automatic weapons fire at U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi military base in Mosul, killing two and wounding six before he died in a hail of bullets, an American general said. In Baghdad, bombers struck the capital for a third straight day, killing 23 people and wounding scores in a string of attacks in mostly Shiite areas. The U.S. military said dozens were injured but it couldn't confirm any fatalities. Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq, told The Associated Press the "premeditated" attack occurred in a courtyard as the soldiers waited for their two lieutenants to finish a meeting with an Iraqi army company commander. Hertling, who said he had spoken with some of the wounded troops, disputed Iraqi accounts that the shooting followed a heated argument between the Iraqi soldier and the Americans. Hertling said the attacker strolled into the courtyard carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and a drum of ammunition, walked to a corner, turned and opened fire. "One shot was aimed and the rest was literally a spray," he said. "There was no argument, no spitting, no slapping, none of that occurred." The six wounded American soldiers were expected to recover, Hertling said. He said senior Iraqi army and police commanders in Mosul, 225 miles northwest of Baghdad, had expressed regret over the shooting and promised a joint investigation. In Baghdad, Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mohammed al-Askari said the shooting followed a quarrel at an Iraqi base in a volatile Sunni Arab neighborhood in central Mosul. The Iraqi soldier was identified as Barzan al-Hadidi. It was the second such shooting in Mosul in a year, raising questions about the professionalism and preparedness of Iraqi security forces and their relations with their American partners. Last December, an Iraqi soldier allegedly shot and killed a U.S. captain and a sergeant during a joint operation in Mosul, where al-Qaida and other Sunni insurgent groups still operate. Tensions are running high in Mosul, where U.S. and Iraqi troops have been trying since last spring to rout insurgents from Iraq's third largest city. The military campaign has also raised friction between the Arab population and Kurdish soldiers of the Iraqi army sent there to help restore order. Also in Mosul, two Christian sisters were killed and their mother was wounded in an attack on their home Wednesday, police said. The attackers rigged the house with boobytraps and one Iraqi policeman was injured when he came to investigate the slayings, Hertling said. Suicide bombings continueAs violence raged in Mosul, a string of bombings rocked Baghdad for the third consecutive day, killing 23 people and wounding about 90, police said. The Iraqi army acknowledged the rise in attacks and said it was taking measures to curb "the increasing number of terrorist attacks" in the city. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27674792/

So, now you have a little better insite into my world....maybe. Like I said yesterday, I've seen enough. I'm ready to go home.

Till next time,

somewhere in Iraq
sgt wormy

6375-ish