|
31 marines die in copter crash { January 26 2005 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36938-2005Jan26.htmlhttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36938-2005Jan26.html
31 Die in Marine Copter Crash in Western Iraq
By Fred Barbash
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 26, 2005; 7:38 AM
A U.S. Marine helicopter crash in western Iraq early this morning killed 31 Marines, the Associated Press reported, quoting military officials. Another five troops died in combat today as violence accelerated in advance of Sunday's election.
There was no official announcement of the helicopter deaths or confirmation from the military, which had earlier announced that a transport helicopter went down in western Iraq about 1:20 a.m. Baghdad time.
It was being flown by members of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing who were transporting personnel from the 1st Marine Division. The military said a search and rescue operation was underway but provided no detail as to how many people were aboard the helicopter or how many were injured.
Of the five troops who died elsewhere, four were Marines who were conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar Province where the city of Fallujah is located. The military provided no detail.
The fifth was a soldier in the Army's 1st Infantry Division who died near Tikrit when insurgents attacked his combat patrol with rocket-propelled grenades about 11:20 a.m. Two other soldiers were wounded in the assault, one of whom was reported in serious condition, according to the U.S. military.
Earlier in the morning, a car bomb detonated on the eastbound lane of the notoriously dangerous Baghdad airport access road, wounding four soldiers, the military said.
To the north near Kirkuk wire services reported that three car bombs exploded in quick succession in an attack on Iraqi police, killing at least nine people, including four police officers, two Iraqi soldiers and at least three civilians. At least 12 others were wounded, the local police chief told the Reuters news agency.
The election Sunday is to elect members of an assembly which will draw up a permanent constitution and set of laws for the nation.
While the leadership of Iraqi's majority Shiite Muslim community is participating in the process, offering up slates of candidates to voters, many of their Sunni Muslim counterparts are shunning it or boycotting it.
On the extreme, others are promising more violent disruptions in an attempt to discourage voters from going to the polls on election day.
To head that off, U.S. and Iraqi forces have stepped up raids across the country over the past few weeks.
One joint operation conducted last night near the Al Rasoul Mosque in eastern Baghdad netted 19 suspected insurgents and various weapons, the military said. Nineteen suspects were taken into custody along with 15 AK-47 assault rifles, four 9 mm pistols and four machine guns.
Another operation this morning uncovered six unexploded roadside bombs in Baghdad, the military said. One of the devices consisted of four gas cans daisy-chained together with a timing device. Another was a 155-millimeter artillery round with wires protruding from it, the military said.
"We've been very successful finding and destroying improvised explosive devices in Baghdad, limiting the insurgent's ability to kill or injure innocent Iraqis," Maj. Philip Smith, a spokesman for the 1st Cavalry Division, said in a written statement.
In the Mosul area, joint teams have detained 314 individuals and confiscated numerous weapons and munitions in the past two weeks, the military said, promising that the operations would continue through election day.
In another security development today, the interim government announced that it would ban travel between provinces and extend the hours of curfew as part of heightened security before the weekend national elections, wire services said.
Interior Minister Falah Naqib said the curfew would be extended from 7 p.m. until 6 a.m. starting Friday evening through Monday, the day after the balloting.
During that period, only vehicles with special permits would be allowed to travel between Iraq's 18 provinces.
The government has already announced plans to close Baghdad International Airport and seal the nation's borders during the election period. Weapons will be banned, and al-Naqib announced rewards for Iraqis who turn in "terrorists."
Wire services contributed to this story.
© 2005 The Washington Post Company
|
|
