# 2 US Soldiers MIA



## tomahawk6 (16 Jun 2006)

Two soldiers missing, one killed at a checkpoint in Baghdad.
Big search underway.


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## big bad john (16 Jun 2006)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/16/iraq.main/index.html

2 U.S. troops missing, 1 killed in attack
Prominent Shiite mosque hit again; 11 killed

Friday, June 16, 2006; Posted: 7:05 p.m. EDT (23:05 GMT) 



A quick reaction team was searching for the missing soldiers early Saturday morning. The team was dispatched to the scene after other troops nearby heard gunfire.

The soldiers were officially listed as "whereabouts unknown," which means they could have been captured or killed or could be hiding out.

The death brought to 2,492 the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war. Seven American civilian employees of the military also have died in the conflict.

In other violence earlier, a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt attacked the Buratha Mosque in Baghdad during Friday prayers, killing 11 and wounding 25, police said, two months after 81 people were killed there.

The attack in the Autaifiya neighborhood was carried out just after noon, despite a massive security crackdown involving 70,000 Iraqi troops and a ban on driving from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., designed to thwart such violence during Friday observances. 

Buratha is a prominent mosque affiliated with the Shiite political movement Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.

It was not clear if the imam -- parliament member Sheikh Jalaluddin al-Saghir who's affiliated with the Shiite-led United Iraqi Alliance -- was at the mosque.

The attack that killed 80 took place April 7, also during Friday prayers, was thought to have been carried out by Sunnis, amid an upsurge in sectarian violence triggered by the February bombing of the Shiite Askariya Mosque in Samarra.

Also Friday, three civilians were killed and 16 others wounded during a mortar strike in a residential part of northern Baghdad around 12:20 p.m., police said.

An overnight curfew from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. will begin in Baghdad on Friday until further notice, officials say.


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## big bad john (17 Jun 2006)

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ_US_SOLDIERS_MISSING?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2006-06-17-15-35-49

2 U.S. troops sought amid abduction report 

By KIM GAMEL 
Associated Press Writer

2 US Soldiers Missing in Iraq
   
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- U.S. troops on Saturday searched for two soldiers missing after an attack that killed one of their comrades at a checkpoint in the so-called "Triangle of Death" south of Baghdad.

U.S. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said four raids had been carried out since Friday's attack and that ground forces, helicopters and airplanes were taking part in the search.

He said a dive team also was going to search for the men, whose checkpoint was located by a Euphrates River canal near Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad.

The New York Times reported that Iraqi residents in the area said they saw two soldiers taken prisoner by a group of masked guerrillas. It said the two surviving soldiers were led to two cars and driven away.

  
Fellow soldiers at a nearby checkpoint heard small-arms fire and explosions, and a quick-reaction force reached the scene in 15 minutes, the military said. The force found one soldier dead but no sign of the two others.

"We are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them," said Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.

The area is known as the Triangle of Death because of the frequent ambushes and attacks against U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.

The spokesman noted the military was still searching for Sgt. Keith Matthew Maupin, who went missing on April 9, 2004.

"We continue to search using every means available and will not stop looking until we find the missing soldiers," he said.

Maupin was captured when insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy with the 724th Transportation Co. west of Baghdad. A week later, Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.

That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim's head and did not show the actual shooting. The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the soldier was Maupin.

A 20-year-old private first class at the time of his capture, Maupin has been promoted twice since then.


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## scm77 (17 Jun 2006)

Hope they find them (alive) soon.


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## The Bread Guy (18 Jun 2006)

From CENTCOM....

http://tinyurl.com/ohg8x

Major Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multi-National Force-Iraq Spokesman, announced that a Coalition Forces soldier was killed and two others are listed as Duty Status and Whereabouts Unknown in the following statement June 17:

 “Good Afternoon.  

Last night, a Coalition Force Soldier was killed and two others are currently listed as Duty Status and Whereabouts Unknown after their security element came under attack at a traffic control point south of Yusifiyah, Iraq, at approximately 7:55 p.m. local time, Friday, June 16th.  The names of the Soldiers are being withheld pending notification of their next of kin.

Coalition Forces and Iraqi Security Forces initiated a search operation within minutes to determine the status of these Soldiers, and we are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them.

The specifics of this situation currently available for release are as follows:

Coalition forces at an adjacent traffic control point heard an explosion and small arms fire at approximately 7:55 p.m. last night in the vicinity of the missing Soldier’s checkpoint, at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River in the vicinity of Yusifiyah. 

After being unable to communicate with the check point, a Quick Reaction Force was launched, arriving on scene within 15 minutes. 

The Quick Reaction Force reported finding one Soldier killed in action and two Soldiers duty status and whereabouts unknown. 

All traffic control points were notified to stop civilian traffic and increase security. 
Helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle and fixed wing assets provided reconnaissance over and around the site. 

A dive team was requested. 

Within an hour of the incident, blocking positions were established throughout the area in a concerted effort to focus the search and prevent movement of suspects out of the area. 
Three raids were conducted during the night on suspected possible locations, and a fourth operation was conducted this morning. 

Coalition Forces engaged with local leaders in the area to enlist the support of civilians in providing any information they could, and these engagements continue. 
Dive teams are now on site, working the canals and river. 
There is cross coordination among adjacent units to develop actionable intelligence on our Soldiers’ whereabouts. 

We are using all available assets, Coalition and Iraqi – ground, air and water – to locate and determine the duty status of our Soldiers. We continue today to search for Sgt. Matt Maupin, captured in April of 2004.  We continue to search using every means available and will not stop looking until we find the missing Soldiers. Make no mistake: we never stop looking for our service members until their status is definitively determined, and we will continue to pray for their safe return.”


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## tomahawk6 (18 Jun 2006)

Numerous raids have been launched so far and today coalition forces surrounded Ramadi.


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## armybuck041 (18 Jun 2006)

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2006/06/18/missing-soldiers.html

Last Updated Sun, 18 Jun 2006 16:52:45 EDT

*Iraqi insurgents decoyed U.S. military vehicles from a checkpoint and then attacked a remaining one, killing the driver and abducting two soldiers, witnesses said as the search continued for the missing men on Sunday.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said he could not confirm reports that the soldiers had been abducted when insurgents attacked a checkpoint close to the town of Yusufiya, about 20 kilometres south of Baghdad, at dusk on Friday.

Snow would only say that the men were missing and that U.S. troops were searching for them on a second straight day.

But local residents said they saw masked militants snatch the soldiers from a checkpoint along a canal near the Euphrates River and whisk them away in cars, the New York Times reported on Sunday.

U.S. officials have not revealed any identities.

The attack took place in a Sunni-dominated region south of the capital that is known as the Triangle of Death because militants often ambush U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops there.

Humvee isolated in the attack

As the checkpoint came under fire, Americans in two Humvees began pursuing the insurgents, who had retreated into nearby  groves — possibly to lure U.S. soldiers away from the crossing, the New York Times reported.

Witnesses said a group of seven or eight insurgents then swarmed the Humvee that was still at the checkpoint, killing the driver.

At least one of the attackers was armed with a machine-gun and two carried rocket-propelled grenades, the newspaper said.

U.S. troops backed by helicopters fanned out across the region but had no news to report on Sunday.

U.S. Maj.-Gen. William Caldwell, a spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, said on Saturday that a dive team would be searching the canal.

In addition, American soldiers went door to door in the area, witnesses said.*

Nasty......

Surrender really isn't an option in Iraq these days


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## Hot Lips (18 Jun 2006)

Let's pray for their safe return.

HL


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## 17thRecceSgt (18 Jun 2006)

War is hell, get home safe troops.


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## 3rd Horseman (18 Jun 2006)

That is unfortunate for them if true, I hope they are found and soon. 

We don't teach enough if anything about surrender. It is never an option in any battle IMHO with the exception of being unable to defend yourself. Too many troops surrendered in Yugo without the correct reason. Does anyone know if it is now taught in the training cycle?


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## paracowboy (18 Jun 2006)

3rd Horseman said:
			
		

> Does anyone know if it is now taught in the training cycle?


yes


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## Cloud Cover (18 Jun 2006)

3rd Horseman said:
			
		

> We don't teach enough if anything about surrender.



I doubt these guys "surrendered" ...


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## The Bread Guy (19 Jun 2006)

Names out now....

http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2006/nr20060618-13290.html

DoD Identifies Army Casualty and Soldiers as Whereabouts Unknown 
            The Department of Defense announced today the death of one soldier and the identity of two soldiers listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On June 16, in Baghdad, Iraq, the soldiers were manning a checkpoint when they came under enemy small arms fire.  All three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.

Killed was:  
Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass.

Reported as DUSTWUN are:
Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas
Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore.

CENTCOM Update
http://tinyurl.com/nbmx9

''BAGHDAD, Iraq – A thorough search continues for two Soldiers still listed as duty status and whereabouts unknown with a combined force from Multi-National Division – Baghdad, and the Iraqi army and police. They continue to conduct coordinated and continuous day and night operations.

In addition to the two Soldiers, one MND-B Soldier was killed when their security team was attacked at a forward check point south of Yusufiyah at approximately 7:55 p.m. Friday.  

Contrary to some recent media reports, the Soldiers’ status has not changed and the search continues.

MND-B leaders are using all means at their disposal in an attempt to discover the whereabouts of the Soldiers, to include unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, boats, and dive teams.  

Despite anti-Iraqi forces’ efforts to disrupt search efforts with harassing attacks, Coalition Forces continue to search undeterred.  

“We will never leave a fallen comrade,” said Maj. Gen. James D. Thurman, commanding general, MND-B.  “Make no doubt about it, the welfare and status of these two Soldiers is our primary concern.”     

The search has expanded out from the immediate Yusufiyah area, employing Soldiers from at least three brigade combat teams, Multi-National Division-West, and other Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces.  

Iraqi citizens continue to assist the search efforts by providing a significant number of leads, which have, and continue to be, investigated.  Coalition Forces continue dialogue, at all levels, with Iraqi leaders and citizens to maintain continued cooperation and gain additional information.''

Good luck, guys - my thoughts are with the families.


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## 17thRecceSgt (19 Jun 2006)

Hope they find them, and soon.


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## tomahawk6 (19 Jun 2006)

IMMEDIATE RELEASE 	No. 569-06 
June 18, 2006 	
DoD Identifies Army Casualty and Soldiers as Whereabouts Unknown 

The Department of Defense announced today the death of one soldier and the identity of two soldiers listed as Duty Status Whereabouts Unknown (DUSTWUN) who were supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.  On June 16, in Baghdad, Iraq, the soldiers were manning a checkpoint when they came under enemy small arms fire.  All three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.



           Killed was:



           
          Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass.



            Reported as DUSTWUN are:



            Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas



            Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore.



            For further information related to this release, contact Army Public Affairs at (703) 692-2000


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## big bad john (20 Jun 2006)

http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1879260.php

Missing troops from 101st
101st soldier killed, two kidnapped during attack on checkpoint in Iraq

By Chantal Escoto
The (Clarksville, Tenn.) Leaf-Chronicle


One soldier who was killed and two others kidnapped at a checkpoint in Yusufiyah, Iraq, Friday belonged to the 101st Airborne Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team.


Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed after the soldiers’ traffic control checkpoint came under enemy attack, said Fort Campbell Public Affairs spokesman John Minton.

The two missing soldiers are Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore. All infantrymen were assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment.

Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer who said he witnessed the attack Friday, said three Humvees were manning a checkpoint when they came under fire from many directions. Two Humvees went after the assailants, but the third was ambushed before it could move, he told The Associated Press.

Seven masked gunmen, including one carrying what Falah described as a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle, then took the two other U.S. soldiers captive, the witness said. His account could not be verified independently.

Another Iraqi said the Americans were offering $100,000 for information leading to the abductors, but the U.S. command denied that.

An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad.

There was no immediate confirmation that the statement was credible, although it appeared on a Web site often used by al-Qaida-linked groups. U.S. officials have said they were trying to confirm whether the missing soldiers were kidnapped.

“Your brothers in the military wing of the Mujahedeen Shura Council kidnapped the two American soldiers near Youssifiya,” the group said in a statement posted on an Islamic Web site.

The White House promised to do everything it could to find the soldiers and said it had a message for anybody who may have taken the two men: “Give them back.”

More about the soldiers Babineau joined the Army in August 1998 and came to Fort Campbell the following December. He is survived by his wife, Rondi, and sons, Dominic and Donovan Babineau and stepdaughter Samantha Hensley, all of Oak Grove, Ky. His parents Paul and Dawn Babineau live in Springfield, Mass.

Menchaca entered the Army in March 2005 and arrived to Fort Campbell four months later. His wife is Christine Alvarez of Big Springs, Texas, and his mother and stepfather Maria and Sergio Vasquez of Houston, Texas.

Tucker arrived at Fort Campbell in Dec. 2005. His parents are Wesley and Margret Tucker of Burns, Ore.

Multinational Force Iraq spokesman Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said the missing soldiers are listed as “duty status and whereabouts unknown.” The category changes to “missing in action” if they are not found after 10 days.

Caldwell said a squad of on-call armed U.S. soldiers, called a quick-reaction force, responded within 15 minutes to the attack site.

Coalition forces continue to search for the two missing soldiers who were manning the checkpoint at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River.

The search U.S. troops, backed by helicopters and warplanes, fanned out across the “Triangle of Death” south of Baghdad searching for the missing servicemen. At least four raids had been carried out, but the captives were not found, the military said.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said he had no new information about the search and could not confirm reports the two men were abducted.

“We’re still trying to ascertain their whereabouts,” he told CNN’s “Late Edition.” “Obviously, there is a vigorous effort to try to locate them and to bring them back safely.”

A U.S. military spokesman, Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, said Saturday a dive team also was searching for the men, whose checkpoint was near a Euphrates River canal not far from Youssifiyah, 12 miles south of Baghdad. The Sunni region is the site of frequent ambushes of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi troops.

The U.S. military said Sunday it was continuing the search.

“Coalition and Iraqi forces will continue to search everywhere possible, uncovering every stone, until our soldiers are found, and we will continue to use every resource available in our search,” it said.

Falah also said tensions were high in the area as U.S. soldiers raided some houses and arrested men. He also said the Americans were setting up checkpoints on all roads leading to the area of the attack and helicopters were hovering at low altitudes.

A Youssifiyah resident, who claimed his house was searched by U.S. soldiers Sunday afternoon, also said the Americans used translators to offer $100,000 for information leading to those who took the soldiers.

He said he would not cooperate because he was angry with the Americans.

“I will not do it even if they pay $1 million,” the resident said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he feared retribution. “They deserve all that they are facing ... We are living a hard life because of them.”

Caldwell said, “We are currently using every means at our disposal on the ground, in the air and in the water to find them,” said Caldwell, the spokesman for U.S. forces in Baghdad.

He said blocking positions were established throughout the area within an hour of the attack to keep suspects from fleeing.

Caldwell also said the military was still searching for Sgt. Keith M. Maupin, of Batavia, Ohio, who went missing April 9, 2004.

“We continue to search using every means available and will not stop looking until we find the missing soldiers,” he said.

Maupin was captured when insurgents ambushed his fuel convoy with the 724th Transportation Co. west of Baghdad. A week later, Arab television network Al-Jazeera aired a videotape showing Maupin sitting on the floor surrounded by five masked men holding automatic rifles.

That June, Al-Jazeera aired another tape purporting to show a U.S. soldier being shot. But the dark, grainy tape showed only the back of the victim’s head and did not show the actual shooting. The Army ruled it was inconclusive whether the soldier was Maupin.

“There have been ongoing efforts,” Snow said. “Unfortunately, again, no word on Keith Maupin, either.”

Maupin, a 20-year-old private first class at the time of his capture, has been promoted twice since then.


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## Scoobie Newbie (20 Jun 2006)

I hope they weren't captured.


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## chaos75 (20 Jun 2006)

Bodies of 2 missing U.S. soldiers found
Last Updated Tue, 20 Jun 2006 07:29:05 EDT
CBC News 
The bodies of two U.S. soldiers who had been missing in Iraq since Friday have been found, an Iraqi military official said on Tuesday.

Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the two men were found on a street near a power plant in the town of Yusufiya, just south of Baghdad.

The U.S. military did not immediately confirm the report.

Pte. 1st Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pte. 1st Class Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., had been missing since an attack last Friday that killed another soldier.

The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an Iraqi militant group, said on Monday they had abducted them.

Witnesses said the American soldiers were taken Friday evening after Iraqi insurgents lured two of three U.S. military vehicles away from a checkpoint in Yusufiya, about 20 kilometres south of Baghdad.

Gunmen then attacked the remaining vehicle, killing Specialist David J. Babineau, 25, and abducting two other men, the local residents said.

The Mujahedeen Shura Council is an umbrella organization that includes several militant groups, including al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike earlier this month.

The group also claimed responsibility Monday for the abduction of four Russian diplomats earlier this month.

The attack occurred in a Sunni-dominated region south of the capital that is known as the Triangle of Death because of its high number of insurgent attacks.


Copyright ©2006 Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - All Rights Reserved


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## Cloud Cover (20 Jun 2006)

Reuters television news service is reporting the bodies have been tortured and mutilated, so it could be a while before there is any confirmation of identification.


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## tomahawk6 (20 Jun 2006)

Yes very sad news today.
The patrol leader will be second guessing his decision to leave the TCP with only three soldiers.Also all soldiers should realize that surrender is a death sentence.The enemy cares nothing for the Geneva Convention they are terrorists.


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## zipperhead_cop (20 Jun 2006)

From the CBC:

Two soldiers who had been missing in Iraq since Friday have been found dead, a U.S. military spokesman said on Tuesday.

"The bodies were found last night in the vicinity of Yusufiya. Coalition forces have recovered what we believe are the remains of the soldiers," said Maj.-Gen. William Caldwell at a news conference in Baghdad.


Pte. 1st Class Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, and Pte. 1st Class Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., had been missing since an attack last Friday that killed another soldier.


More than 8,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops had been searching for Menchaca and Tucker. Caldwell said the bodies were found late on Monday.


Earlier in the day, Iraqi military official Maj. Gen. Abdul-Aziz Mohammed said the two bodies showed signs of "barbaric torture."


Witnesses said the Americans were taken Friday evening after Iraqi insurgents lured two of three U.S. military vehicles away from a checkpoint in Yusufiya, about 20 kilometres south of Baghdad.


Gunmen then attacked the remaining vehicle, killing Specialist David J. Babineau, 25, and abducting two other men, the local residents said.


The attack occurred in a Sunni-dominated region south of the capital that is known as the Triangle of Death because of its high number of insurgent attacks.


The Mujahedeen Shura Council, an Iraqi militant group, said on Monday that it had abducted the two men. The group also claimed responsibility for the abductions of four Russian diplomats earlier this month.


The council is an umbrella organization that includes several militant groups, including al-Qaeda in Iraq, whose leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. air strike earlier this month.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/cbc/s/20062006/3/world-missing-u-s-soldiers-found-dead-iraq.html

I hope we get to hear about the vicious, cold rain of hell that ensues from this.  
God comfort their poor tortured souls, and be with their families.


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## Scoobie Newbie (20 Jun 2006)

Tomahawk I agree that surrender is certain death and I hope I never have to make that decision but do we know they surrendered.  They may have been incapacitated by explosions or shot and couldn't resist.


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## Scoobie Newbie (20 Jun 2006)

From CNN the bodies were booby trapped as were the routes for recovery.  The bodies can not be visually identified do to the torture and therefore DNA will have to be used.


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## paracowboy (20 Jun 2006)

not knowing any more than anyone else right now, this is hardly gospel, but I find it hard to believe that any US soldier would surrender in Iraq. I think it more likely that they were, as Quag asked, incapacitated in some way.

If, (IF) these bodies are, in fact, the missing US pers. In any case, my sympathies go out to the families and comrades of the missing soldiers.


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## Cloud Cover (20 Jun 2006)

From the accounts in the new media, what happened to these 2 soldiers was absolutely horrific even by Iraq standards and I hope those that have done these truly evil deeds are found and made to pay.


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## Scoobie Newbie (20 Jun 2006)

Whiskey, Karma's a bitch.  If they are stupid enough to take credit for it I think they will be seeing Allah sooner then later.


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## GAP (20 Jun 2006)

There's day to day stuff and then there's a "mission". I predict the next little while will see an awful lot of guys on a "Mission".


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## Bobbyoreo (20 Jun 2006)

Thoughts and prayers with the families and friends.


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## Scoobie Newbie (20 Jun 2006)

GAP since the death of numb nuts there I believe there have been an awful lot of operations that have killed a lot of baddies.  This will only further the American soldiers resolve I suspect.


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## Michael Dorosh (20 Jun 2006)

paracowboy said:
			
		

> not knowing any more than anyone else right now, this is hardly gospel, but I find it hard to believe that any US soldier would surrender in Iraq. I think it more likely that they were, as Quag asked, incapacitated in some way.



Or simply stunned by the death of the driver and overwhelmed.


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## big bad john (20 Jun 2006)

Thoughts and prayers with them and their loved ones.



Kristian Menchaca (left) and Thomas Tucker


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## AFireinside13 (21 Jun 2006)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/06/20/soldiers.missing/index.html

*U.S. soldiers' bodies mutilated, booby-trapped*
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- The bodies of two U.S. soldiers found in Iraq Monday night were mutilated and booby-trapped, military sources said Tuesday.

Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, of Houston, Texas, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, went missing after a Friday attack on a traffic control checkpoint in Yusufiya, 12 miles (20 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

The sources said the two men had suffered severe trauma. (Watch how bodies were recovered -- 2:14)

The bodies also had been desecrated and a visual identification was impossible -- part of the reason DNA testing was being conducted to verify their identities, the sources said.

A tip from Iraqi civilians led officials to the bodies, military sources told CNN. The discovery was made about 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Not only were the bodies booby-trapped, but homemade bombs also lined the road leading to the victims, an apparent effort to complicate recovery efforts and target recovery teams, the sources said. 

It took troops 12 hours to clear the area of roadside bombs. One of the bombs exploded, but there were no injuries.

The bodies were found in the Yusufiya area, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, adding he believed the soldiers were mortally wounded, then moved. 

It was unclear whether he meant the wounds were suffered in the initial attack on a checkpoint or afterward. "Where we found them was not based on their own movements," Caldwell said.

The soldiers' families have been notified of the developments, he said. 

The bodies were transferred to a coalition base and were to be taken to the United States for DNA testing.

A high-ranking official with the Iraqi defense ministry earlier offered a conflicting account, telling CNN the soldiers' bodies were found Saturday in Jurf al-Sakhar town about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Baghdad.

Group claims killings
A claim posted on a Web site Tuesday said the soldiers were "slaughtered" in accordance with "God's will."

"We announce the good news to our Islamic nation that we executed God's will and slaughtered the two crusader animals we had in captivity," said the claim, reportedly from the Mujahedeen Shura Council, a group linked to al Qaeda. 

"And God has given our Emir, Abu Hamza al-Muhajer, the good fortune of carrying out the legitimate court's command in person."

The U.S. military believes al-Muhajer is another name for *Abu Ayyub al-Masri*, an Egyptian-born terrorist who it believes has replaced Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, killed in a U.S. airstrike earlier this month, as leader of al Qaeda in Iraq.

CNN could not independently verify the claim, but the Web site frequently has carried such messages from insurgent groups.

Asked whether he gives credibility to a Monday claim by the same group that it had abducted the soldiers, Caldwell said, "Absolutely not."

Earlier, military spokesman Maj. William Wilhoite said he did not know whether the bodies showed signs of torture. "I haven't heard anything through our official channels," he said.

The U.S. military said Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was killed in the Friday attack, after which Menchaca and Tucker went missing. 

Asked to provide more information about the attack, Caldwell said the military would provide details after making sure the soldiers' families were fully apprised about the incident.

Families 'devastated'
Menchaca's aunt told CNN the family had been notified of his death.

Menchaca's uncle, Mario Vasquez, said family members were distraught and were waiting to receive the body before making any arrangements. 

Earlier, some family members heard of a possible discovery through the media, before being notified by the military, Vasquez said.

He called for the military to retaliate swiftly against the kidnappers.

"I wish they'd punish the people that do these kinds of things right away, instead of taking forever and spending millions of dollars," Vasquez said.

"I think you capture them, make them pay for what they did. Don't think that it's just two more soldiers. Don't negotiate anything. They [the killers] didn't." 

Another of Menchaca's uncles, Ken MacKenzie, lashed out at the government on NBC's "Today Show," saying it didn't do enough to bring the men home safe, The Associated Press reported. (Full story) 

A force of more than 8,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops searched for the two soldiers. Searchers initially found a body thought to be that of one of the soldiers, Caldwell said, but turned out not to be.

Caldwell said troops used unmanned aerial vehicles, helicopters, boats and dive teams in the search. 

One coalition soldier was killed and 12 were wounded during the search operations, he said. Two "anti-Iraqi elements" were killed and another 78 suspected insurgents have been detained, he said. 

The Oregon National Guard released a statement on behalf of the Tucker family Tuesday afternoon.

"At this time, the family is devastated at the news their son may have been killed," the statement said. "They ask for continuing respect for their privacy now at this time of difficulty."

The three soldiers involved in Friday's attack were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) out of Fort Campbell, Kentucky, the military said.

End Story.

I hope when the coalition gets their hands on this new "leader" Abu Ayyub al-Masri they give him all the pleasentries he deserves. Absolutely discusting.
My sincere condolences to the family, friends, and allies down south.  
RIP troop.


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## manhole (21 Jun 2006)

our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends...........we are fighting against a different kind of enemy - they don't play by the same rules we do.........         

Ubique


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## muskrat89 (21 Jun 2006)

Funny, there will never be as much furor over things like this as there was over Abu Gharaib   ???


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## Cloud Cover (22 Jun 2006)

CNN is reporting the army has confirmed that at least one of these boys was tortured and decapitated. This scene must have been horrific. 

Reproduced under the fair dealings provisions of the Copyright Act:

 Family gets word of soldier's brutal death

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- Relatives of a Texas soldier caught in an insurgent attack in Iraq said Thursday the military had confirmed one of two brutalized bodies found there was his.

Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca's family had gathered at his mother's Brownsville home, hoping that DNA tests would determine the young newlywed wasn't one of the victims found Tuesday.

"They have confirmed that it is Kristian," his aunt, Hermelinda Gomez, said Thursday before returning inside the single-story brick house.

Menchaca, a 23-year-old soldier from Houston, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25, of Madras, Oregon, disappeared after an insurgent attack Friday at a checkpoint by a Euphrates River canal, 12 miles south of Baghdad, that killed another U.S. soldier.

A U.S. military official said Wednesday that one and possibly both soldiers were tortured and beheaded. The bodies were sent to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday for DNA testing.

Felipa Gomez, Menchaca's 16-year-old cousin, said the military official who had been updating the family came with the news in the middle of the night.

"We had already expected it," she said, showing a poster full of snapshots of Menchaca that she had made the night before.

Friends and neighbors had decorated the front yard with yellow ribbons, American flags, and red, white, and blue silk flowers. A group of local veterans came to offer condolences.

Gomez said that the body was expected home within a few days, and that Menchaca's wife, 18-year-old Christina Menchaca, of Big Spring, was going to come down for the funeral once it arrived.

The soldier's close-knit Mexican-American family described him as a sweet, quiet young man who joined the military last year and deployed to Iraq within months.

Tucker graduated from high school in 1999 and worked a variety of construction jobs before he decided to join the Army last summer. His friends said he liked to angle for catfish in the Prineville Reservoir and hunt deer in the Ochoco Mountains.

He enjoyed the adrenaline rush of being a part of the action, said his father, Wes Tucker.

The U.S. military recovered the bodies in an area it said was rigged with explosives. An Iraqi official said the Americans were tortured and killed in a "barbaric" way.

Spc. David J. Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Massachusetts, was killed in the attack. The three men were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

After Iraqi officials disclosed that the bodies were found Tuesday, the Shura Council posted a Web statement, saying that the successor to slain Iraqi al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi had "slaughtered" the soldiers. The language in the statement, which could not be authenticated, suggested the men were beheaded.

The insurgent group claimed the new leader of al Qaeda in Iraq executed the men personally, but offered no evidence. The U.S. military did not confirm whether the soldiers died from wounds suffered in the attack Friday or were later killed.

Copyright 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
   
Find this article at: 
http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/06/22/missing.soldiers.bodies.ap/index.html


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## 17thRecceSgt (22 Jun 2006)

RIP Troops


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## Scoobie Newbie (22 Jun 2006)

One of the families wanted the specifics.


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## Michael Dorosh (22 Jun 2006)

muskrat89 said:
			
		

> Funny, there will never be as much furor over things like this as there was over Abu Gharaib   ???



People expect more from Americans than they do from terrorists, whether they like to admit it or not. A terrorist acting like a barbarian unfortunately isn't news; Americans acting "barbarous" is more newsworthy...even if that barbarity is more like a college prank in terms of severity, in relation to the beheading and torture of prisoners.

I agree with you, though, and am at a loss to understand the lack of outrage. I guess public perception is increasingly that the US shouldn't be there - something most of us on this site probably disagree with to some extent.


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## big bad john (27 Jun 2006)

http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=38251

Military releases details of search for kidnapped GIs 
Booby-trapped remains final obstacle in retrieving bodies 

Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, June 28, 2006



Eric Gay / AP 
Under honor guard escort, the remains of Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca are unloaded off an airplane at the Brownsville-South Padre Island International Airport in Brownsville, Texas, on Monday as his widow, Christina, 18, second from left, is comforted.


American forces searching for two soldiers abducted during an attack near Youssifiyah last week fought through at least 10 roadside bombs, dismantled 17 others before they could detonate, and found the soldiers’ remains strapped with yet another bomb, officials said late Monday.

Insurgents also conducted “harassing attacks” on the search teams with both indirect and direct fire.

In releasing more details about the search for Pfc. Kristian Menchaca and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, the U.S. military command in Baghdad said that 36 men suspected of involvement in the attack and abduction had been detained. Of those, 13 “are providing intelligence of value.”

In a news release, the military officially confirmed that the two sets of remains recovered near an electrical plant on June 19 were those of Menchaca and Tucker. Military medical examiners used DNA testing to confirm the soldiers’ identities; military officials said the two sets of remains had been “severely traumatized.”

According to an updated time line of the incident provided by Multi-National Corps-Iraq spokeswoman Lt. Col. Michelle Martin–Hing, the initial attack was on a three-man security team manning a checkpoint near Youssifiyah, south of Baghdad, where the soldiers were guarding a canal crossing near the Euphrates River. 

Spc. David J. Babineau was killed in the attack, and the other two soldiers were taken captive after “terrorists overwhelmed the position,” Martin-Hing said. All three soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division.

Menchaca and Tucker were taken to an unknown location and later killed.

An hour after the attack, officials said, air and ground forces cordoned off the area and began search operations. Later, that search force would grow to 8,000 American and Iraqi troops.

“Twenty-five military operations were conducted, including 11 air assault missions. More than 12 villages and an old power plant were searched,” the news release read. “In the massive effort to locate the missing soldiers, 12 soldiers were wounded.”

Iraqi citizens reportedly provided almost 80 tips, with one local sheik and one detainee providing information that led to the remains being found. The remains were found on June 19 around 7:50 p.m. next to a road near the village of Mufaraji. The sources also warned of explosives in the area.

Troops waited until daylight to approach the bodies, and “at first light, the engineers cleared the route up to the site of the bodies, fighting their way through three roadside bombs in the process,” according to the release. 

“The two bodies, severely traumatized, were found bound together with a [makeshift bomb] between one of the soldiers’ legs. The engineers successfully cleared the [bomb] and the surrounding area to allow recovery of the remains,” the release said.


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## big bad john (11 Jul 2006)

From todays Army Times Early Bird Report:

Insurgent Group Posts Video of 2 Mutilated U.S. Soldiers
(New York Times, July 11, 2006) 
Insurgents posted an Internet video showing the mutilated corpses of two American soldiers who were abducted in June and found murdered days later during a search by American and Iraqi forces south of Baghdad. A message with the video said the soldiers were killed out of revenge for the rape and murder of an Iraqi girl in March, a crime in which at least six American soldiers are suspects.


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## tomahawk6 (11 Jul 2006)

Saw it. My prayers are with those two soldiers and we will avenge them.


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