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March 17, 2005

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By Charlie Coon
Stars & Stripes Mideast edition

BAQOUBA, Iraq - Four Iraqi soldiers were killed and another 17 wounded Wednesday when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint outside the gates of Forward Operating Bases Warhorse and Scunion.

Some U.S. troops first thought the explosion was a planned blast to destroy enemy bombs. But the blast wasn't planned, at least not by the U.S. soldiers, who were soon scrambling to save their comrades in the Iraqi army.

“They're just here to do their jobs, to help,” said Sgt. Charles Graham. “To me, losing one of them is like losing one of us.”

Soldiers from Graham's unit, the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armored Regiment, arrived on the scene from Scunion as Iraqi soldiers piled the casualties into the backs of their white Toyota pickups. The casualties were driven to the gate at FOB Warhorse and met by U.S. medics and combat ambulances from Warhorse's clinic.

“It was pretty messy,” said Graham, whose unit had performed missions with the same group of Iraqi soldiers. “A lot of guys were injured by shrapnel. There was a lot of blood, a lot of blood.”

All of the casualties were members of the 204th Iraqi Army Battalion. There was no immediate word if there were civilian casualties. No U.S. soldiers were wounded.

Graham's soldiers secured the scene, and the frantic Iraqis were met at Warhorse's gate by medics from Company C, 203rd Forward Support Battalion. In the minutes after the 8:43 a.m. blast, the clinic received radio reports that four were wounded, then eight, nine and 16. It sent more help as the casualty estimate rose.

At the gate, the medics sifted through the carnage.

“The first two guys I saw were dead,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Louris. “We moved them out of the way to get to the other guys.

“We tried to get the most critical guys [to the clinic first],” he said.

Once at the clinic, called the Teal Medical Facility, the wounded were carried on stretchers from the ambulances into the clinic and its waiting team.

Others weren't so lucky.

Besides the two Iraqi soldiers who died at the scene, one was declared dead at the front gate of Warhorse and the fourth died on the operating table, according to Dr. (Maj.) Andy Magnet, brigade surgeon for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, which is based at FOB Warhorse.

In addition to those killed, eight Iraqi soldiers were evacuated for treatment to the 31st Combat Support Hospital at Logistics Support Area Anaconda about 30 miles to the west. Eight Iraqi soldiers were treated and returned to duty. One was scheduled to stay overnight at the Warhorse clinic.

Inside the clinic, the wounded were placed on treatment tables in rows and treated by U.S. medics. Others sat stunned in chairs a few feet away in the makeshift waiting room, one resting his bandaged head on a blood-stained hand.

The blast upset what had been a lull in violence for the past several weeks for the 42nd Infantry Division's Task Force Liberty, which has been helping the Iraqis seat new local governments and begin reconstruction projects in north-central Iraq.

A late-arriving Iraqi soldier stormed into the clinic, had a quick word with a compatriot, then turned and wailed with grief, beating his head with his fist as he stormed back outside crying. His brother had been one of those killed.

According to Maj. Adnan Gassan, one of the Iraqis in charge, the car bomber drove past him at the checkpoint before detonating his blast. The driver, Gassan said, was a boy who appeared to be 13 or 14 years old.

All four of those who died were married with children, Gassan said.

“They (Iraqi soldiers) are people who just want to help,” Gassan said through an interpreter. “They just want to stabilize the situation in [the province of] Diyala,” of which Baqouba is the capital.

“This incident will make us more strong,” he added as a nearby U.S. soldier mopped blood drops off the clinic's floor. “We will do our best to avenge our peaceful soldiers. We will do our best to follow and capture the terrorists.

“We know they will be defeated.”

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