May 2007 abduction of US soldiers in Iraq
Encyclopedia
The abduction
Two HMMWVs, each carrying four soldiers, were sitting on a road along the Euphrates River several miles west of Mahmudiyah when the insurgents, who had been observing them for two nights, attacked. They fired guns and hurled grenades into the vehicles, killing the four Americans and an Iraqi soldier; they then set the vehicles on fire with extra fuel and took the three captured soldiers with them.The names of the 4 US soldiers were killed in the incident are listed:
- Sgt. 1st Class James D. Connell, 40
- Spc. Daniel W. Courneya, 19
- Cpl. Christopher E. Murphy, 21
- Sgt. Anthony J. Schober, 23 (Remains identified later)
At the time, the capture represented the second-largest capture of US soldiers in the war, the worst since the March 23, 2003 capture of Jessica Lynch
Jessica Lynch
Jessica Dawn Lynch is a former Private First Class in the United States Army Quartermaster Corps. Lynch served in Iraq during the 2003 invasion by U.S. and allied forces. On March 23, 2003 she was injured and captured by Iraqi forces but was recovered on April 1 by U.S...
and five other soldiers.
Search for the soldiers
A $200,000 reward was offered for information on the whereabouts of the soldiers, all of whom belonged to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (United States)
The 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division is a mountain warfare infantry Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. It is a subordinate unit of the 10th Mountain Division....
based in northern New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
On May 17, New Iraqi Army forces detained 16 people described as "suspects" in the incident.
On May 19 US forces stormed a facility in Al-A'amiriya
Al-A'amiriya
Al-A'amiriya is a western neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq. It is an upper-class Sunni neighborhood in the west of the city on the way to Anbar Province.-History:...
and detained nine occupants, on a tip that they were related to the capture. It was announced that afternoon that one of the three soldiers was believed killed a few days after capture, while the other two remained prisoners. The same day, a search party for the missing soldiers came under attack, leaving one American soldier dead and four more wounded.
According to an Iraqi intelligence officer, two prisoners confessed to taking part in the attack, saying that a group of thirteen insurgents had attacked the outpost, and split into two group afterwards, with the ringleader taking the captured US soldiers with him. The Iraqi Army arrested more than 250 people suspected of ties to the attack.
On May 20, US forces drained a canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
along the Euphrates
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
after local villagers reported seeing body parts floating, but had no success. On May 21, another 14 people were arrested within a 9-mile radius of the original site of the kidnapping. Four others were detained and then released, in Jurf al-Sakhr, after two US Stryker
Stryker
The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, 4-wheel-drive , armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in use by the United States Army. The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor:...
companies entered the city to question rumoured relatives of the attackers.
On May 23, military officials informed the family of Joseph Anzack that a commanding officer had visually identified his body as being one pulled from the Euphrates River
Euphrates
The Euphrates is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia...
by Iraqi patrol boats, although DNA tests were still pending. The body had two bullet holes in the head and one in the chest.
On June 4, The Islamic State of Iraq declared in a video posted on the internet than Byron and Alex were killed because the U.S refused to stop searching for them. They also claimed that they would not give the bodies of the two soldiers to their families and that the two men were buried.
On January 8, 2008, Jimenez was promoted to Sergeant. Soldiers who are missing in action are considered in service until known otherwise, and are promoted depending on their level of education and training in the armed forces.
Recovery of the bodies
On Wednesday July 9, 2008, the bodies of the Alex Jimenez and Byron Fouty were found in an area south of Baghdad known as the "triangle of death". The Defense Department released a statement to the public on July 11, 2008.Responsibility
The Islamic State of IraqIslamic State of Iraq
The Islamic State of Iraq , is an umbrella organization of a number Iraqi insurgency groups established on October 15 2006.The group is composed of and supported by a variety of insurgency groups, including its predecessor, the Mujahideen Shura Council, Al-Qaeda, Jeish al-Fatiheen, Jund al-Sahaba,...
claimed responsibility for capturing the three soldiers on May 14, stating that the attack was another reprisal for the Mahmudiyah incident
Mahmudiyah incident
The Mahmudiyah killings and gang-rape of a 14-year-old girl by U.S. troops occurred on March 12, 2006, in a house to the southwest of Yusufiyah, a village to the west of the town of Al-Mahmudiyah, Iraq. Five United States Army soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment were charged with the crimes: ...
in which 14-year old Abeer Qassim Hamza was gangraped by US soldiers before being murdered along with her family. The group issued a statement, saying "What you are doing in searching for your soldiers will lead to nothing but exhaustion and headaches. Your soldiers are in our hands. If you want their safety, do not look for them
On March 22, 2009, the US Army filed a complaint against 12 Islamic State of Iraq members suspected of taking part in the ambush. All were in custody.
Craigslist scam
In July 2008, someone claiming to be Mick Fouty, Byron's biological father, posted a fake ad on CraigslistCraigslist
Craigslist is a centralized network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements, with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums....
about wanting to sell his son's car, a BMW, for a fraction of its Blue Book value. In real life, Byron Fouty never owned his own car. Members of Jimenez's family noticed the ad and notified Fouty's family. A criminal investigation is underway to uncover the perpetrator and find out if anyone became a victim of the fraud.
See also
- Matt MaupinMatt MaupinKeith Matthew "Matt" Maupin was a United States Army Private First Class captured by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004, while serving in the Iraq War, after his convoy came under attack by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire near Baghdad, Iraq .On June 28, 2004, Arabic-language...
, soldier kidnapped in April 2004 - Kristian MenchacaKristian MenchacaKristian Menchaca , Brownsville, Texas, was a United States Army Private First Class who was tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was married to Christina Menchaca of Big Spring in September 2005, before he was deployed to Iraq.-Military life:Menchaca was one of two U.S...
and Thomas Lowell TuckerThomas Lowell TuckerThomas Lowell Tucker from Madras, Oregon, was a Private First Class of the U.S. Army tortured, killed, and mutilated by Al-Qaeda in Iraq. He was one of two U.S. soldiers seized by the Mujahideen Shura Council during an attack that left a third soldier Spc. David J...
, soldiers kidnapped in June 2006 - Ahmed Qusai al-TaayieAhmed Qusai al-TaayieStaff Sergeant Ahmed Kousay Altaie is an Iraqi American United States Army linguist soldier, who was captured on October 23, 2006 in Baghdad.-Early life:...
, soldier kidnapped in October 2006 - Karbala provincial headquarters raidKarbala provincial headquarters raidThe raid of the Karbala provincial headquarters was an infiltration attack carried out on 20 January 2007 by insurgent commandos, with possible Iranian involvement, on a meeting of U.S. and Iraqi officials at the governor's compound in Karbala to discuss security for the Shia ceremony of Ashoura...