Blast leaves two U.S. soldiers dead in Mosul

[ProSense]

Blast leaves two U.S. soldiers dead in Mosul

By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes

MOSUL, Iraq — Two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday after an insurgent bomb exploded underneath their Bradley fighting vehicle as they were clearing a route for hidden explosives, U.S. military officers said.

The soldiers were members of 4th Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, based in Fort Bliss, Texas.

Two other soldiers were wounded in the blast and were transported to a coalition hospital at Forward Operating Base Marez for treatment, military authorities said.

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I learned that lesson a long time ago, back in the war of the 1960s, in Vietnam. We learned what it was like to go into these villages where you don’t share the culture, the language, you don’t look like the people, the religion — any of it. You are carrying guns, and they think you are occupying their land. It is tough. It is tough on our folks.

What are they doing? They are going out and finding IEDs the hard way. I hear folks talking about these battles and the enemy. The enemy? The enemy are IEDs. Obviously the people who plant them, but they don’t see them very much. Most of the wounded are from IEDs. Most of the killed are from IEDs. This is not a set piece battle such as we have seen in a lot of other wars we have fought. It is not even the same kind of insurgency battle we have seen in a lot of other wars we have fought. It is very different. -- John Kerry

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[TwilightGardener]

1. Sad. Low death toll month, but didn't matter for these two, or their families. RIP.