Word: mortars
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...this range?" Then came a single heavy caliber shot that cracked over Mitchell's track, followed by another, then a burst. "That's close," said Mitchell. "Somebody's moving up on our right just over the berm." A second round burst in the air, perhaps 50 meters closer. "Mortar rounds, that's what it is," said Mitchell, upright again in his hatch. "They're coming from inside the town." The squad backed up about 30 meters. As two more rounds exploded in the ground 50 meters front and right, the unseen machine gunner somewhere on the right began firing repeated...
...Melendez shouted back: "Sounds like they're trying to flank you guys." Unbeknownst to the enemy, U.S. scouts were now working feverishly to come up with "grid references"- coordinates for Mitchell's squad to start firing at. Two more mortar rounds landed in a cloud of dust about 30 meters out to the right. Over the rattle of Iraqi machine gun fire, the scouts announced they had a grid: "six dash four dash dash two dash six dash seven, niner dash two dash three dash three dash five...
...Iraqi's immediately responded with more machine gun fire and three mortar rounds, again wide and to the left. "It's coming from right over that berm," yelled Micthell, pointing to a ridge 500 meters off to the right. "Shoot that woodline, shoot that woodline." Jones opened fire with his .50 caliber machine gun as up ahead Barbarians 2 and 4 did the same with their same weapons. Hot shell casings fell about Jones' feet inside the track. A few hundred meters ahead three Iraqi's sprinted across the road, firing upon Wallace...
...tenth mortar round landed and Jones poured more .50 cal in to the berm on the right. Rather's Barbarian 4 fired its 120 mm - this one painted, "Baghdad's Nightmare." Again the strike was good. ("I finally busted my cherry," Sgt. Rather would joke later.) Gratified again, this time in the ditches in front of the bungalow -a few seconds later another mortar exploded plum on the road, 40 meters ahead of Barbarian 2. "The Iraqi's have zeroed their distance," said Mitchell, as all three tanks in Micthell's track made a sharp reverse. "Let's show...
...choppers see when they fly over Nasiriyah are civilians shooting Kalashnikovs out of their windows," says Geracci. "The pilots were talking about blowing up houses the next time they went in. They need to know that the civilians are not fighting against them." But the sound of mortar fire in the distance that night makes it clear that there are plenty of Iraqis out there...