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| Iraq |
| 2004 Video: Blackwater Najaf incident - Extended version |
| 2008-04-25 |
| You need to register with LiveLeak to see this. Cool vid of a few cool ex-SF contractors fending off a huge attack by Mahdi Army members (aka terrorists). One of the snipers refers to the action as a "turkey shoot". :-) An attack by hundreds of Iraqi militia members on the U.S. governmentÂ’s headquarters in Najaf was repulsed not by the U.S. military, but by eight commandos from a private security firm, according to sources familiar with the incident. Before U.S. reinforcements could arrive, the firm, Blackwater Security Consulting, sent in its own helicopters amid an intense firefight to resupply its commandos with ammunition and to ferry out a wounded Marine, the sources said. The role of BlackwaterÂ’s commandos in the fighting in Najaf illuminates the gray zone between their formal role as bodyguards and the realities of operating in an active war zone. Thousands of armed private security contractors are operating in Iraq in a wide variety of missions and exchanging fire with Iraqis every day, according to informal after-action reports from several companies. In that fighting, Shiite militia forces barraged the Blackwater commandos, four MPs and a Marine gunner with rocket-propelled grenades and AK-47 fire for hours before U.S. Special Forces troops arrived. A sniper on a nearby roof apparently wounded three men. U.S. troops faced heavy fighting in several Iraqi cities that day. The Blackwater commandos, most of whom are former Special Forces troops, are on contract to provide security for the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) in Najaf. With their ammunition nearly gone, a wounded and badly bleeding Marine on the rooftop, and no reinforcement by the U.S. military in the immediate offing, the company sent in helicopters to drop ammunition and pick up the Marine. |
| Posted by:gorb |
| #3 The MSM press sure demonized these guys. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2008-04-25 16:51 |
| #2 Old news. Before the Pro-active rules came in 2006, the enemy could form in large groups. Not so much anymore. Except where Iraqi government troops cease combat. |
| Posted by: reload 2008-04-25 14:13 |
| #1 Now you see why Liberals (and various sects of Islamofascists) think Blackwater is 'evil.' |
| Posted by: Menhadden Snogum6713 2008-04-25 08:05 |