December 21, 2004
The Ansar al-Sunnah Army has issued a communique detailing the operation which has been translated. As was suspected, there was a suicide bomber prior to any type of mortar/rocket attack.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Rockets struck a mess tent at a military base in Mosul where hundreds of U.S. soldiers had just sat down to lunch Tuesday, and military officials said at least 20 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded. A radical Muslim group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed responsibility.The dead included U.S. military personnel, U.S. contractors, foreign national contractors and Iraqi army, said Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia in Mosul.
Clearly horrible news, though the claim of responsibility by Ansar al-Sunnah Army (Army of al-Sunnah) is no shock. They operate in Northern Iraq, namely Mosul, and have been responsible for many of the recent terrorist attacks in Mosul.
Apparently the city of Mosul is divided by the Tigris River not just geographically, but ethnically as well. On the Eastern side of the Tigris, the Kurds live and U.S. soldiers can patrol with releative security. On the Western side of the Tigris is the side dominated by Arabs. The U.S. base in Mosul is on the Western side of the Tigris.
Almost every day terrorists do "drive-by" rocket attacks on the base and plant IEDs just outside the base. Of course most mortar rounds miss critical facilities within the base, however this one hit a crucial area.
Update:
Times-Dispatch reporter Jeremy Redmon was at the scene of the mortar attack in the U.S. mess hall. He has written a gripping account of what happened in a must-read (via Six Meat Buffet).
Update:
Supposedly Ansar al-sunnah has written something relating to this on their site, but unfortunately I do not read Arabic. I know there is someone that reads Rusty's site that can translate this for the masses. If there is, please contact me and I'll forward the link to the site so we can get a translation.
A translation is wanted because according to various reports, the Army of al-Sunnah claims this was a "martyrdom" killing which could mean the base infiltrated or compromised from within. As we all know, martyrdom requires the person who actually followed through with the attack to die in the act of committing the attrocity.
Update:
Hyscience has a huge roundup of the news coverage of the attack along with putting the story in context.
Update:
U.S. military explosives experts are invesitigating the cause of the explosion which gives further credence to the rumors indicating the explosion may have been from within rather than from a rocket attack.
Update:
According to the BBC, Mosul has a history of providing military commanders for Saddam's army as well as intelligence officials.
According to Charles Glass, who reported for the London Review of Books from Mosul, there are signs the city's anti-American insurgency is being marshalled by shadowy figures from the former dictator's Baath party.A reporter in the city told the BBC News website in November that several Syrians were among the fighters captured by US forces.
This is not surprising, though as I stated above Mosul is divided by the Tigris River from all accounts I've read; not just geographically but ethinically.
I have changed the title of this post because the more information that comes out leads me to believe this was not a mortar or rocket attack as first reported. Even the U.S. military calls the attack a "blast" and is investigating what occured.
Cross-posted at In the Bullpen
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