35 US soldiers captured in Fallujah

news.xinhuanet.com...

At first I didnt think this was true, you would think it would be pretty hard to capture someone with a gun right? Let alone 35 of them. But there are 10,000 US troops in the area so it is atleast feasable.

Link froze up. Couldnt see story.

Only comment. Hope the article is wrong although its possible in this sort of fight.

Who announced it Baghdad Bob?

I highly doubt this..........

Most likely propaganda. How can you capture 35 troops with gun's. Plus with their fetish for cuting off heads most unlikely a soilder will allow themselves to be captured.

FALLUJAH, Iraq, Nov. 8 (Xinhuanet) -- Mosques in Iraq's restive city of Fallujah announced on Monday that the fighters inside the city have captured 35 US soldiers.

Loud speakers of the mosques blared out the news as US forces were trying to penetrate the rebel-held city, but the news could not be independently confirmed.

Bit of a battle cry. Nothing more.

In Fallujah, it died a long time ago. We'll see what's left when the smoke clears.

If the insurgents somehow did manage to capture 35 U.S. soldiers, they would be wise to treat them well.

Originally posted by Majic
If the insurgents somehow did manage to capture 35 U.S. soldiers, they would be wise to treat them well.

Do you really think that they would care now? I mean, look, they will be taken to cuba or be put in a prison in their country. Both have very bad reputations now. I doubt they will care about the treatment or lives of US soldiers when they know how they will be treated.

anyway, this is religous for them. They would probably rather die themselves as to get caught. They feel that they will be rewarded in the afterlife. Two different mentalities between us and them. Who knows how true it would be as well. Hopefully it is propaganda, but they are fighting in a city.

For those of you thinking impossible: How hard would it be to find them in an alley with a dead end or blocked off and take them from the roofs? If the soldiers did not give up, then they would definatly die. For you arm-chair warriors that know everything. Fighting in a city is ALOT more dangerous than fighting in the desert. I am sure we will soon find out the truth.

[edit on 9-11-2004 by JCMinJapan]

I dont think many troops would fight to the death over there if they were pinned down and outnumbered. They are worn down from all the fighting, morale is low and alot of them really dont believe in the war. Plus they would know that of the ten thousand plus US troops in the area they are bound to be found sometime. If they are dead or alive when found is another issue altogether.

I've got a buddy whose son is somewhere around fallujah and I hope this is a false report. It's been a mess there. He got to come home for two weeks a month or so ago and said it was awful. Somethings gotta give pretty soon in Iraq.

doctorduh

Originally posted by Majic
In Fallujah, it died a long time ago. We'll see what's left when the smoke clears.

If the insurgents somehow did manage to capture 35 U.S. soldiers, they would be wise to treat them well.

Why? They will be slaughtered regardless

Given what the insurgents themselves have shared about thier ethos.....kidnappings, beheading executions, the murder of captive police officers and troops.....WHY wouldnt the troops go down fighting if they could?....sorry to alarm folks with kin and freinds there, but I was brought up to hope for the best and be ready for the worst....Its sometimes mistaken for pessimism but I have never been let down by the advice, one way or the other.

And where do you get your information about thier morale?

For every story I hear about how # the morale is, I hear another they are on a high because they are finally feeling unleashed to do thier job the way they are mean't to ....hard.

There's going to be a mix, I prefer to beleive that they are going to pull through it, for the most part.

Originally posted by craigandrew
Given what the insurgents themselves have shared about thier ethos.....kidnappings, beheading executions, the murder of captive police officers and troops.....WHY wouldnt the troops go down fighting if they could?....sorry to alarm folks with kin and freinds there, but I was brought up to hope for the best and be ready for the worst....Its sometimes mistaken for pessimism but I have never been let down by the advice, one way or the other.

And where do you get your information about thier morale?

For every story I hear about how # the morale is, I hear another they are on a high because they are finally feeling unleashed to do thier job the way they are mean't to ....hard.

There's going to be a mix, I prefer to beleive that they are going to pull through it, for the most part.

The troops morale has been pretty low for most of the war, it is peaking right now as major combat starts but it will soon drop again as they realise street to street fighting isnt very much fun.

Really?
I highly doubt it. Facts beknown, morale fluctuates always in a conflict situation(s), but let me ask you this: How long has this particualr operation been going on to take Falluja? My reason is because I just ran across this from Reuters:
U.S.-Led Forces Reach Central Falluja-U.S. Source

If this story is remotely accurate and true, I would say the morale issue would seem to be pretty high?



seekerof

thats well over a troop/platoon now fogive me but they are bound ot have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of ammo. oh not forgetting the SAW's which brings it up a level.

Originally posted by devilwasp
thats well over a troop/platoon now fogive me but they are bound ot have lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of ammo. oh not forgetting the SAW's which brings it up a level.

They werent necesserily captured in one big group, that just wouldnt be possible, especially with the SAW's

I heard nothing on the broadcast news, so I started looking on the internet. AlJazeera claims the capture, but the US denies it.
See the story at :
english.aljazeera.net... 7E3F7C3F93.htm

The first part of the article says :

Thirty six US soldiers have been captured in the Iraqi city of Falluja and are being paraded through its streets, according to an influential Iraqi Muslim group.
Dr Muhammad Ayash al-Qubaisi, a spokesman for the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS), made the claim to Aljazeera.net on Monday after the US-led offensive on the city got underway.
The Qatar-based spokesman said several eyewitnesses in Falluja had confirmed the capture of the soldiers.
A spokesman for US-led forces in Iraq told Aljazeera.net that the reports were baseless

I guess this means there are conflicting reports again.

the push through Fallujah is? I mean nobody really causing a problem for our forces which most likely means the enemy is not there but regrouping somewhere else. Kind of the hit and run thing you know, like we did to the British and the Indians did to us.

GrndLkNatv you are right. It does seem to be going fast. A radio station here in NE Ohio even said some of the soldiers are surprised at how "Easy" the push is. It even compared the speed to the original push to Baghdad.

I find it difficult to believe they are "parading in the streets" with the current US troop level there, and strafing C-130's....

Looks like Baghdad Bob is alive and well!

I suppose a support team could have been captured (similar to Private Jessica's situation), but I seriously doubt it until I see some more reliable sources......

I mean everyone knows the old saying, the figher who walks away comes back to fight another day. I am sure the real insurgents are probably around bagdad getting ready to pick off the iraqi leadership all the while the marines are killing civilians and charging empty homes. Any idiot would have escaped during the night by now.