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31 Marines Killed in Iraq Chopper Crash
CNN
Wednesday 26 January 2005
4 Marines, 1 U.S. soldier killed in separate incidents.
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. Marine Corps helicopter crashed early Wednesday in west Iraq, near the border with Jordan, killing 31 Marines, military officials said.
The CH-53 Stallion crashed near Ar Rutbah in western Iraq at about 1:20 a.m. local time (5:20 p.m. Tuesday ET). It was carrying personnel from the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the 1st Marine Division.
Military officials said a search and rescue team was at the site and an investigation of the crash was under way. It was not immediately known if the helicopter crashed or was shot down.
In a separate incident, four Marines were killed in action Wednesday during combat operations in Iraq's Al-Anbar province, according to a military news release. The Marines were assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force. Ar Rutbah is also in Al-Anbar province.
Elsewhere, a U.S. soldier was killed Wednesday when insurgents attacked a combat patrol with grenades near Ad Duluiyah, military officials said.
The soldier, from the 1st Infantry Division, died and two others were wounded in the attack about 11:20 a.m. (3:20 a.m. ET). The injured were taken to a military hospital for treatment; one was in serious condition.
Four multinational soldiers were wounded Wednesday when a car bomb exploded near a convoy in southwestern Baghdad, along the road to the city's airport, a source with the U.S. Army's 1st Cavalry Division said.
The attack took place about 10 a.m. (2 a.m. ET) on the road, which has been one of the country's bloodiest locations in recent months. The nationalities of the wounded soldiers were not immediately known. U.S. troops sealed off the area after the explosion.
In Tamin province, also on Wednesday, three car bombs within an hour killed five people and injured six others, according to the police chief in Kirkuk.
The bombs exploded between 11 a.m. and noon (3 and 4 a.m. ET), said Maj. Gen. Torhan Abdul Rahman. The first was in the town of Riyadh, about 30 kilometers (19 miles) west of Kirkuk, and targeted a police station, he said. Three Iraqi police officers were killed and three civilians injured.
The second detonated outside the Riyadh mayor's office, killing two Iraqi soldiers. The third bomb exploded outside Riyadh and targeted a U.S. military convoy. Three other Iraqi civilians were wounded.
Insurgents attacked the offices of two political parties in Baquba on Wednesday, triggering clashes that left an Iraqi police officer dead and four others wounded - three of them working as guards for the parties, Baquba police said.
The insurgents used grenades and small arms fire to attack the Kurdish Democratic Party office and the office of the Iraqi Patriotic Gathering Alliance about 6:30 a.m. (10:30 p.m. Tuesday ET), police said, and the resulting battles lasted two hours.
In al-Nahrawan, a southeastern suburb of Baghdad, city council leader Karim Sarhan was gunned down Wednesday morning in a drive-by shooting on his way to work, Iraqi police said.
Three government employees were shot and killed in attacks Tuesday, according to police.
Three Baghdad schools to be used as polling centers in Sunday's election were attacked Tuesday night, an Iraqi police officer said. A bomb planted at a fourth school was defused.
About 8 p.m. (noon ET), Salah al-Deen school in northern Baghdad was damaged when insurgents threw a grenade at it, authorities said. Thirty minutes later, a bomb exploded near the main gate of Al-Fursan school in southeast Baghdad, causing damage, police said.
About 10:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. ET), Al-Balquees school in northern Baghdad was damaged when it was hit by a rocket, police said.
About 90 minutes later, experts defused a bomb planted near al-Yemen school in al-Gazaliyah neighborhood in western Baghdad.
Iraqis go to the polls Sunday, and U.S. and Iraqi officials have been warning that insurgents would ramp up their attacks in a bid to derail the vote.
On Tuesday, a high-ranking official in Iraq's Justice Ministry was gunned down in a drive-by shooting as he was leaving his home southeast of Baghdad, police said. A group calling itself the Army of Ansar al-Sunnah claimed responsibility for the attack on Judge Qais Hashim al-Shonmari, and warned of more attacks to come. Shonmari's son was also killed in the shooting. Hostage shown on videotape
Also Tuesday, a videotape was released showing American hostage Roy Hallums pleading for his life while an off-camera captor holds a gun to his head. Hallums was kidnapped November 1, and the video gives no clues about when it was made or whether he is still alive. (Full story)
And a firefight Tuesday in southeastern Baghdad killed three police officers and two insurgents, Baghdad police said. Seven police officers were also wounded.
The attacks took place as interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi promised to speed training for Iraqi security forces so they can take over for the largely U.S. forces now securing the country. The presence of U.S. troops may become a key issue in the vote, as more Iraqis agree they should leave the country sooner rather than later. The U.S. and interim government maintain troops cannot leave until the Iraqis are ready to take over.
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