Task Force Not Deterred by Car Bomb Attack
As U.S. soldiers were investigating a tip about a terrorist associated with a recent attack which killed one U.S. soldier and 24 Iraqi children, a car bomb detonated.

By 2nd Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs Office
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Aug. 9, 2005 � A terrorist failed to cause significant U.S. casualties or damage in a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack Aug. 6 in east Baghdad. Two U.S. soldiers and one Iraqi civilian sustained minor wounds from the attack. The vehicle, described by soldiers on the scene as a Volkswagen van, approached the halted convoy of 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division around 9:30 a.m. The battalion soldiers were investigating a tip from a local Iraqi about a terrorist in the area who was associated with the July 13 vehicle bomb attack at the same location which killed one U.S. soldier and 24 Iraqi children. While they were moving in to detain the suspected terrorist, the bomb detonated.

�(I was) 15 to 20 feet from the explosion,� said U.S. Army Sgt. Eric Hollis, F Company, 26th Forward Support Battalion, attached to 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery. �We were standing right there - nothing hit us!� At the time of the explosion, U.S. soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 64th Armor, 2nd Brigade Combat Team in a nearby observation tower noticed two suspected terrorists in a vehicle over-watching the attack. Personnel with 1st Battalion, 64th Armor dispatched a quick-reaction force which detained the men. Additionally, a 155-millimeter artillery round was discovered near the vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack site. An explosive ordnance disposal team was called in to perform a controlled detonation. The vehicle-borne improvised explosive device attack also failed to deter the Task Force Baghdad soldiers from their original mission. Soon after the attack, they found and detained the terrorist for whom they were looking.