CNN: 2 US Soldiers killed by snipers in Najaf

[gp]

just reported live by Matthew Chance on CNN

can't seem to find any link or confirmation yet.

[markses]

1. That makes three today

One killed by IED in "northern Baghdad" (i.e., Sadr City).

[iconoclastic cat]

2. And so it begins.

[okieinpain]

3. what begins?

[IndianaGreen]

5. The genocide that the US and our puppet Allawi don't want the world to see

This is why Al-Jazeera was suspended for a month and why the foreign press has been ordered out of Najaf by one of Allawi's thugs. And we thought Israel was naughty in its handling of Palestinians in Jenin and Ramallah, that was child's play compared to what we are doing to the Iraqis.

At this rate Allawi will quickly surpass Saddam in bloodshed and cruelty.

[Aidoneus]

12. wrong thread..

[exJW]

7. If you're thinking what I'm thinking

I think you're right, lol.

I had this scary thought just yesterday. What's going to happen when the "whatever-you-want-to-label-them"(s) learn to shoot with precision? I mean, it only makes sense. Your enemy has body armor? Put your bullet where he doesn't have body armor. This tactic would make it just that much more impossible to "occupy" an area that doesn't want to be occupied.

I really think it would have taken 500,000 soldiers to accomplish what Bush wanted to accomplish in Iraq (not that that is at all clear). Maybe more.

[wtmusic]

22. That's been happening from day one

Iraqi militia learned early on to shoot for the face or neck, don't trust cover of darkness, etc.

They are still overwhelmed by the quantity and quality of weaponry. Their battle tactics are constantly adapting.

[Mari333]

4. every soldier died for nothing. every one of them.

http://icasualties.org/oif/

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

6. You know, when this invasion started, particularly when the cities were

invaded and occupied, I wondered about this. I was thinking, these guys may not have a bunch of Abrams tanks and such, but what they do have a hell of a lot of is rifles and ammo. I figured at least they'd have some people who were pretty good shots, it's "low tech" and cheap to practice this sort of thing. I was surprised to basically never hear reports about sniper attacks.

Well, I guess they've figured it out.

[bluestateguy]

8. I'm watching CNN now

Blitzer is on. I didn't see this.

[gp]

10. it was on cnn at the top of the hour

Matthew Chance the embedded CNN reporter in Najaf reported this on the top of the hour.

I haven't been able to find any confirmation anywhere yet tho.

The only related snip I could find is on the CNN website:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/15/iraq.main/index.html

The governor's office said rebel forces loyal to al-Sadr were fighting both Iraqi and U.S. forces. The U.S. military was checking the report.

A U.S. military patrol Sunday came under fire from al-Sadr's Mehdi Army fighters near Najaf's cemetery, according to CNN's Matthew Chance, who is embedded with the U.S. military in Najaf.

After taking fire from rocket-propelled grenades and snipers, Marines returned fire, killing at least two al-Sadr forces. The U.S. forces did not sustain any casualties.

Matthew Chance may have misspoken, the original poster may have missheard or casualty figures have been updated.

[osaMABUSh]

9. Sorry, but I've been wondering how can the insurgents can have

hundreds of KIAs and the Americans have zero?

It just doesn't make sense. A lucky shot here or there or an accident or friendly fire seems probable.

I just think the military/media is suppressing the bad news.

[Downtown Hound]

11. They probably are

But I also think they are grossly inflating enemy body counts as well, just like they did in Vietnam.

[wtmusic]

21. absolutely

as a kid I distinctly remember how odd it was to have our casualties *always* lower than theirs. Always.

What a pantload.

[bemildred]

14. Somewhere I saw a statement that admitted 6 US dead and around 20 Iraqis.

That is Iraqi gov't forces, this was for the current round of
fighting in Najaf up to Friday.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

13. I think we're going to hear more and more about sniper attacks.

It's an easy thing for a low tech enemy in an occupied city to do.

As in the story below.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61168-2004Aug12.html

Death, Duty in Forgotten Corner of War
Remembering Gunny and the Kid, a Hard-Hit Unit Goes Back on Patrol

By Doug Struck
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, August 13, 2004; Page A01


QAIM, Iraq -- Word spread fast. It was Gunny. And the young kid, Nice.

The news was passed in low voices, quiet conversations. No one wanted to say it loudly. The Marines heard it and looked away. They squinted at the heavy sun, kicked their boots in the dust. Their faces hardened. They spat their dip and shifted the guns on their shoulders. They swore. What else was there to say but goddammit.

Gunnery Sgt. Elia Fontecchio, 30, was killed by a roadside bomb, set off by someone who was watching a U.S. Marine foot patrol finish its work on Wednesday, Aug. 4. A half-hour later, Lance Cpl. Joseph Nice, 19, was stringing concertina wire across a road when a single sniper bullet passed through his body.

They were deaths 14 and 15 for the 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment since it arrived in February. With 156 Purple Hearts as well, the casualty count for this battalion is higher than that of any other unit in Iraq, save for fellow Marines in turbulent Fallujah.

But to the men here, this is a forgotten war. They are at the western edge of Iraq, the last stop before Syria. The world hears what happens here only in a faint whisper. They are far from the headline cities -- Najaf, Baghdad, Fallujah, Ramadi -- where every spasm is seen by a thousand eyes.

[bluestateguy]

15. This story isn't showing up anywhere

i think it's about to get retracted.

[IndianaGreen]

16. Here it is the CNN link

You have to read the entire news article instead of looking at the headlines:

Two U.S. troops were killed Sunday by a sniper in the ancient cemetery that adjoins the shrine, in the center of Najaf, U.S. Army officials said.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/meast/08/15/iraq.main/index.html

[gp]

17. thanks, IndianaGreen

It's amazing how they are trying to bury this story, or any story for that matter that reports on US casualties.

[IndianaGreen]

18. We have to read our media the same way the Soviets did theirs

between the lines!

[autorank]

19. Fed up with CNN: Go Here and "Correct CNN"

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x622769

[pfitz59]

24. Just heard CNN say 634 deaths in Iraq..

Isn't total over 900? With something like 10,000 wounded..

[Massacure]

27. They probably excluded friendly fire, crashes, and other accidents.

[osaMABUSh]

20. If cnn.com were a newspaper, that'd be page 24 or so!

Wow, they are burying any bad news deeply.

Six months ago that would have been on the home page.

[DrWeird]

23. Pentagon lists them as non-combat fatalities

The Pentagon has recently redefined "killed-in-action" to only include those killed by hostile enemies during a bayonet charge.

[NashVegas]

25. Here's What My Local News Channel Said

"US soldiers killed by insurgents trying to stop democracy from growing."

I called the newsdesk just now and asked them to lay the propaganda on a little thicker.

[Randi_Listener]

26. Worth it?

Were the lives of those 2 soldiers who had their heads peeled off worth it? What has been gained so far?