Word: aidid
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...Carlos Rodriguez the battle was a few seconds of terror, hours of agonized waiting. While his comrades stormed the building near the Olympic Hotel in Mogadishu to try to snatch Somali warlord Mohammed Farrah Aidid, Rodriguez and the rest of his squad swarmed down ropes from a helicopter and began a security patrol through a nearby street. "It was bright daylight; there were windows and doors all around us, and you can't watch all of them all the time," said Rodriguez. "All of a sudden the Somalis just opened up on us, small arms and grenades. There was shooting...
...interview cut short by a general who arrived to pin a Purple Heart on him -- the rest of the world knew why the rescue had been so delayed. Just as his unit was being shot at, the Rangers storming the building near the Olympic Hotel looking for Aidid were also being hit by murderous fire. (Aidid's supporters were actually meeting in a building next to the hotel. Aidid was not there, though senior U.S. officials insist the Rangers missed him by only two minutes.) Helicopter troops nonetheless captured the hotel and environs and bagged more than 19 Aidid supporters...
...then, though, the Rangers had suffered a shocking toll: 14 dead, plus one who died four days later, and 77 wounded, including Rodriguez. Known to be taken prisoner: one. A mortar attack by Aidid's men on Ranger forces at the Mogadishu airport Wednesday night killed another American and wounded 12 more. The four-day death toll of at least 16 exceeded the 15 Americans killed in the previous 10 months of U.S. involvement in Somalia. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimated 200 Somalis had died in the battle, and hundreds of wounded piled into hospitals that...
...south Mogadishu, where Aidid is still defiant, the story is anything but good. Constantly on the move, always surrounded by women and children, Aidid has managed to elude arrest and assassination despite the arrival last August of 400 U.S. Rangers ordered to find him. His gunmen are marauding through the city, and U.N. forces, led by the U.S., have responded with a heavy hand. Earlier this month, more than 100 Somalis were killed and wounded when U.S. helicopters fired into a crowd that had ambushed a passing U.N. convoy. Last week the Rangers had a small success when they captured...
Fifty-two foreign soldiers have died since Aidid started targeting them in June. U.S. officials admit his forces have the capacity to conduct hit-and-run attacks indefinitely. U.N. positions take mortar fire most nights as Aidid tries to wear down the staying power of the 30 countries contributing troops. His subordinates vow to fight on even if he is captured...