Coalition and Iraqi forces received gunfire and rocket-propelled grenade fire from insurgents inside a mosque near Iskandariyah, Iraq March 26.I'm not one of those who believes that the war on terrorism is a war against Islam, but we have to stop giving the enemy safe havens. I'm all for the "fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me" rule...if a particular mosque gets used more than once, it has to go.
Company D, 3rd Battalion, 309th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Iraqi security force personnel positively identified that the attack was coming from the Al Wasafa mosque and minaret and requested an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter from the 4th Squadron, 227th Attack Reconnaissance Battalion to engage the insurgents in the mosque.
No significant damage was done to the mosque, but bullet holes can be seen in the mosque walls.
Iraqi forces entered the mosque to pursue the insurgents and the U.S. forces secured the area outside.
A military transition team from Forward Operating Base Iskan assisted in the pursuit of insurgents following the attack.
The Iraqi Security Forces and paratroopers respect the sanctity of mosques by taking precautions to minimize damage to property and disruption of legitimate activities when operating around such sites.
Injured insurgents were given immediate medical care by Iraqi security forces and taken to area hospitals. One insurgent was killed and two were wounded.
Will the usual suspects condemn the terrorists for breaking the Geneva Convention yet again? Will the politically correct, arm chair generals ever get the idea that this isn't a conventional war where concepts like the Geneva Convention even apply? I'm not holding my breath...
Sure. Our enemy isn't following any of the established rules of warfare...and I get that the fact that we do is what makes us different. But if we end up losing, it will be because we failed to recognize that the very way we are fighting this war is not sufficient to get the job done. We need to crush this enemy hard and fast. How exactly do we do that? I have no idea...but I know that giving our enemies a free zone to take shots at us again and again is not the answer.
