Non-Fatal Attacks Now Routine for U.S. Troops in Iraq WP

[LauraK]

Because the blast did not result in a death or serious injury, it was not mentioned to reporters by the U.S. military's public information office. But military officials acknowledged that such non-fatal attacks are more widespread than daily casualty figures reflect.

"It's becoming routine," a U.S. military official said. "It's no longer a few isolated incidents."

Such incidents are of growing concern to military commanders, who express fear that assailants will learn from their failures and improve their tactics. Military officials also are worried that a barrage of non-fatal attacks -- estimated by officials at more than a dozen a day in Baghdad -- will sap troop morale and cause people to reevaluate official pronouncements that armed resistance to the U.S. occupation is small and militarily insignificant.

Three other incidents today wounded seven U.S. soldiers, the military said.

In Baghdad, two were wounded in another land mine attack, a military spokesman said, and two more were hurt when insurgents dropped a homemade bomb from a bridge onto a passing military convoy.

In the city of Kirkuk, about 150 miles north of the capital, assailants fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a military convoy, wounding three servicemen. Military officials said soldiers in the convoy returned fire, but it was not immediately known if there were Iraqi casualties.

The Associated Press reported that three Iraqis, including a 13-year-old boy, were killed by U.S. soldiers returning fire after a grenade attack on a police station in a Baghdad suburb. In addition, U.S. Central Command reported that a soldier attached to the 101st Airborne Division died Monday of a gunshot wound suffered in a non-combat incident.
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30136-2003Jul8.html

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Must sayu

During the Nam War we did hear of both Wounded in Action and Missing in Action...

[molok555]

2. Watching the German Network

DW on sat here in Viet Nam yesterday, they showed the results of one of these non-fatal attacks. Pretty damn intense. A group of US soldiers were trying to buy cigarettes when they were attacked by an "unknown explosive" (probably grenade according to the reporter). Three or 4 were injured, one badly-missing some fingers. They worked hard to get the troops out, the camers remained and ALL the Iraqis in the area (estimate...50-70 or so) cheered like they'd won the World Cup.

BTW, don't think you'll ever see footage like that on CNN...

[Greyskye]

3. New link & comment

The above Washington Post link is empty, here is another one which seems to be the same article:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28712-2003Jul8.html?nav=hptop_tb


This sentence from the article stuck out:

"He said the fatal, point-blank shooting of a soldier on Sunday at Baghdad University was the eighth incident that involved a shot to the neck area, above the soldier's flak jacket but below the helmet."

(emphasis mine)
Sounds pretty organized to me, but obviously this must just be the 'criminal element' doing this, not an organized guerilla movement... (sarcasm alert!)