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04-24-2007, 05:54 PM
9 Fort Bragg Paratroopers Killed in Iraq
Tuesday April 24, 2007 4:01 PM
By ESTES THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The nine U.S. soldiers killed and 20 wounded when a truck bomb exploded next to their patrol base in Iraq were paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, the division said Tuesday.
Maj. Tom Earnhardt, a spokesman for the division at Fort Bragg, said it was the deadliest attack the division had faced since the Iraq war began.
It also was the single deadliest attack on ground forces since Dec. 1, 2005, when a roadside bomb killed 10 Marines and wounded 11 on a foot patrol near Fallujah. An insurgent group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility, according to an Internet-posted statement Tuesday.
The soldiers were members of the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Earnhardt said. A civilian interpreter was also wounded in Monday's explosion.
``They were inside the building,'' Earnhardt said. ``Fifteen of the wounded were superficial and they were treated on the spot and returned to duty. Five were evacuated to a military hospital, but none of the five have life-threatening injuries.''
The identities of the soldiers were not immediately released.
Earnhardt said Tuesday that their families were still being notified. The 82nd Division, which has about two-thirds of its soldiers deployed, must assemble nine notification teams and prepare to counsel families and assign each a casualty assistance officer, he said.
A memorial service will be held in May at the base, about 70 miles south of Raleigh, Earnhardt said.
The paratroopers' unit deployed in August to Iraq. In all, the division has four brigade combat teams in Iraq or Afghanistan, plus a supply brigade in Iraq and an aviation brigade split between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Of the roughly 18,000 paratroopers in the division, only about 6,000 remain at Fort Bragg, and 3,500 of those are scheduled to deploy to Iraq early this summer.
The deaths raised to 85 the number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for American troops since December, when 112 died.
AP (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6582924,00.html)
Tuesday April 24, 2007 4:01 PM
By ESTES THOMPSON
Associated Press Writer
FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) - The nine U.S. soldiers killed and 20 wounded when a truck bomb exploded next to their patrol base in Iraq were paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, the division said Tuesday.
Maj. Tom Earnhardt, a spokesman for the division at Fort Bragg, said it was the deadliest attack the division had faced since the Iraq war began.
It also was the single deadliest attack on ground forces since Dec. 1, 2005, when a roadside bomb killed 10 Marines and wounded 11 on a foot patrol near Fallujah. An insurgent group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed responsibility, according to an Internet-posted statement Tuesday.
The soldiers were members of the 5th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Earnhardt said. A civilian interpreter was also wounded in Monday's explosion.
``They were inside the building,'' Earnhardt said. ``Fifteen of the wounded were superficial and they were treated on the spot and returned to duty. Five were evacuated to a military hospital, but none of the five have life-threatening injuries.''
The identities of the soldiers were not immediately released.
Earnhardt said Tuesday that their families were still being notified. The 82nd Division, which has about two-thirds of its soldiers deployed, must assemble nine notification teams and prepare to counsel families and assign each a casualty assistance officer, he said.
A memorial service will be held in May at the base, about 70 miles south of Raleigh, Earnhardt said.
The paratroopers' unit deployed in August to Iraq. In all, the division has four brigade combat teams in Iraq or Afghanistan, plus a supply brigade in Iraq and an aviation brigade split between Iraq and Afghanistan.
Of the roughly 18,000 paratroopers in the division, only about 6,000 remain at Fort Bragg, and 3,500 of those are scheduled to deploy to Iraq early this summer.
The deaths raised to 85 the number of U.S. service members killed in Iraq in April, making it the deadliest month for American troops since December, when 112 died.
AP (http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6582924,00.html)