The Stars & Stripes reports that some new details are emerging on the Rangers and the nurse that were killed this weekend in Afghanistan;
A U.S. military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Army Ranger unit was arranged along the wall of the targeted compound and preparing to enter when an insurgent detonated a suicide vest.
The investigation is seeking to determine whether the suicide bomber was a woman.
In addition to the four Americans killed, 30 more U.S. personnel were injured on the mission — all of them Army Rangers — according to 75th Ranger Regiment spokeswoman Tracy Bailey.
“I can’t get into the details,” Bailey said, because the incident is under investigation. “I can tell you we had 30 wounded.”
Ms. Bailey said that an Afghan interpreter was among the wounded and that a military working dog was also killed along with one of the target’s wife. After the suicide vest was detonated, a dozen or so IEDs were also detonated.
Army Lt. Col. Clarence Counts, a spokesman for the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, said the soldiers followed standard tactics, techniques and procedures.
“The sequence of events will be analyzed to figure out exactly what happened and if anything could have been done differently,” he added.
So, a group of Rangers lined up and ready to enter a compound were taken out by a suicide blast, and then their buddies were taken out by IEDs that just happened to be near their route of entry?
Something is definitely not right about this entire scenario…
Rest in peace my brothers
RLTW
Ambush.
I hate bushwhackers in ways I cannot begin to describe.
Tonight, I will get out that open bottle of wine in the fridge, let it breathe, and toast the Fallen with the words of Theoden, King of the Riddermark.
HAIL THE GLORIOUS DEAD!
Fair skies, gentle breezes and soft landings, brothers.
RLTW
RIP!
@1, Flagwaver, if they were sending in the Rangers, it was a HVT they were after. If it was a HVT it does not surprise me that there would be in a booby trapped compound and have one or more people, possibly even the HVT wearing a suicide vest.
Or they wired up the place and planted the intel that a HVT was there and didn’t know or care that it was the Rangers, they just wanted to martyr themselves.
What’s not right is that the best intel evidently was possessed by the enemy…
Is it common to have a nurse along on HVT raids ? Seems odd that they would have her along unless they believed that there could be either significant casualties or that the target was injured or incapacitated and would need treatment prior to extraction.
She was not there as a nurse. She was there as a Cultural Support Team (CST) member, to deal with any women on the target.
fuck me, a sied followed by a dozen ieds?! That had to be planned out.. RIP
The one thing that could be done differently is allow us to kill these bastards! RIP and Condolences to the families of these brave warriors.
Why are we still there? Our leaders have written off the conflict as a political non-starter. We need to disappear in the middle of the night. Park everything not coming home in the middle the dessert, and hit it with a 100 kilo ton nuke the next afternoon. These barbaric savages are not worth the effort. Leave them to die in the shithole they have created.
RIP brothers and sister. The 15-6 on this will be interesting.
As for the nurse at least one source makes it look like she was part of some sort of FET team. See http://ricks.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/10/09/reading_a_casualty_report_us_fighting_in_afghanistan_as_long_as_they_can_remember
Goddam bushwackers. God-Speed brothers – and sister. Sunofabitch. And we’re still bitchin about money. I need a new planet.
@14 CWO
No, we need a new administration.
Rest in peace, my brothers- and sister-in-arms. May God comfort their surviving friends and family, and grant a speedy recovery to those wounded.
:'( Rest in peace. God Bless these Families.