One Insurgent Killed, 3 Captured in Adhamiyah

Multi-National Corps – Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
RELEASE No. 20070617-16

BAGHDAD — What started as a routine patrol turned into a shootout that left one insurgent dead and three others in custody after an intense 20-minute gun battle on the streets of Baghdad’s Adhamiyah District June 16.

Soldiers from Company C, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment were on a mounted patrol when they began receiving small arms fire from a small group of ski mask-wearing insurgents on a rooftop. The Soldiers returned fire and the insurgents fled. A wild chase through the city streets followed as the Soldiers attempted to cut off the insurgents’ escape route.

As they rounded a corner, the Soldiers were engaged by a larger group of insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades. Again the Soldiers returned fire, forcing several of the insurgents to seek cover in a walled courtyard on a side street. Clouds of dust and smoke filled the narrow street as volleys of fire went back and forth. The exchange continued until Pfc. Ismel Sanchez, of Greensboro, N.C. lobbed a grenade over the wall, silencing the insurgents’ guns.

When the Soldiers moved inside to clear the courtyard, they found three insurgents, one mortally wounded. Another insurgent who was attempting to hide in the house next door was quickly identified and detained.

While the Soldiers were still securing the area, several insurgents armed with RPGs appeared at the end of the street and began firing at the U.S. vehicles. The turret gunner in the lead truck laid down suppressive fire, but his 7.62 mm ammunition was no match for the brick wall the insurgents were using as cover.

While Sgt. Jake Richardson of St. Johns, Ariz. kept the insurgents’ heads down with his M203 grenade launcher, Staff Sgt. Michael Mullahy of Batvaia, Ill. retrieved an AT4 rocket launcher from one of the trucks. Placing himself directly in the line of fire, Mullahy sighted the AT4 and fired, leveling the wall and forcing the insurgents to retreat.

“They were firing at us from behind cover, so I took away their cover,” Mullahy said.

Mullahy’s shot ended the engagement. Once the area was secured, the suspects were loaded into vehicles and transported back to the company’s base for further questioning.

When they returned, the Soldiers who had been in contact were greeted with a warrior’s cheer from those who stayed back. Richardson summed up the engagement in one sentence for a friend who asked him what happened.

“It was a cute little fight that turned real sour for the bad guys,” he said.

There were no U.S. Soldiers injured during the engagement.