Insurgent mortar attack near Iraq-Syria border town kills three Iraqi civilians; injures nine others
CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Aug. 3, 2006) – Three Iraqi civilians were killed and nine more injured when an insurgent 120 mm mortar struck a residential area in Ubaydi, Iraq, at approximately 7:30 p.m. today.
No Coalition Forces personnel were killed or injured in the attack. The mortar round landed directly on a local home.
All nine injured Iraqi civilians were immediately medically evacuated to nearby U.S. military medical facilities for care.
Though the wounded civilians’ immediate condition is unknown, four were listed as requiring “urgent surgical” medical care upon their medical evacuation. “Urgent surgical” is the U.S. military medical term which denotes a patient who requires immediate care due to the potential loss of a limb, eyesight and/or life.
Marine Corps officials believe the attack was intended to strike a near-by Coalition Forces outpost within the city. Ubaydi is located on the banks of the Euphrates River, 20 km from the Syrian border, in western Al Anbar Province.
The U.S. military unit which provides security to the Al Qa’im region along the border, which includes Ubaydi, is the Twenty-nine Palms, Calif.-based 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment.
Source: Regimental Combat Team 7, Camp Ripper, Al Asad, Iraq
