Babylon and the Polish Troops
2 Dead, 5 Wounded in War-Related Accident
Reuters reports that guerillas fired at a Polish convoy late Wednesday or early Thursday, so startling the drivers that an accident ensued, killing 2 soldiers and wounding five.
A Polish-speaking reader shares the following summaries from Polish new sources about fighting in the Shiite south that has caught up the multi-national forces. It is the sort of news Americans almost never hear, and these sorts of incidents appear to be endemic. Journalist Robert Fisk has pointed out that the US Department of Defense is probably the most comprehensive gatherer of information about violence in Iraq, but that it releases very little to the US public.
The Camp Babilon which is under Polish Expeditionary Force command (Multinational Division Center-South) was under mortar fire for 7 minutes today [Wednesday]. 10 or 12 mortar grenades landed in the middle of the camp. One grenade landed on a building occupied by the office of the Ukrainian general. 7 persons were wounded. 3 Poles (2 soldiers and one civilian person), one American, one Hindu, 2 Iraqis. According to Lt.Col. Artur Domanski wounds were not dangerous.The mortar attack begin at 14.30 Iraqi time. The Camp Babylon was shot at from the area of the road leading from the province Babil to the province Karbala. According to General Andrzej Ekiert (commander of the Multinational Division Center-South), “mortar grenades were shot fast. I was surprised by the time of attack. Until now we were shot at only in the night”.
Wednesday’s attack was pre-planned and carried out by a group of at least several persons – army sources said.