A small, tracked robot is maneuvered toward a roadside bomb by 766th Ordnance Company officials. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the device, a hollowed-out log filled with artillery wires. (Vince Little / S&S)
A small, tracked robot is maneuvered toward a roadside bomb by 766th Ordnance Company officials. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the device, a hollowed-out log filled with artillery wires. (Vince Little / S&S)
U.S. soldiers secure the road while the bomb is destroyed near the Mushada Bridge. The cordon area ensured that soldiers and Iraqi civilians remained a safe distance from the controlled blast. (Vince Little / S&S)
An Army Explosive Ordinance Disposal team detonates the roadside bomb found by members of 1st Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division. Minutes later, an unseen insurgent detonated a second bomb a few yards away as soldiers moved closer to inspect the initial detonation site. (Matthew Wester / U.S. Army)
Minutes after the second roadside bomb went off, two soldiers help secure a main road as armored vehicles and tanks search for other explosives and anyone who might have triggered the blast. (Vince Little / S&S)
Army Staff Sgt. Vernon Smith, left, of Tallahassee, Fla., an explosive ordnance disposal team member from the 766th Ordnance Company, is helped into a protective suit by Pfc. Wade Harrington, of Steinhatcher, Fla., after a roadside bomb was found in northern Baghdad on Monday. (Vince Little / S&S)
In Iraq, it’s rarely the bomb you see that will kill you.
A group of engineers and armor soldiers patrolling near Camp Taji, Iraq, on Monday proved how valuable a keen eye and healthy skepticism can be. Insurgents wanted the soldiers to find only one roadside bomb, but instead they found three planted in a deadly pattern.
Apparently, one of the devices was a decoy, designed to lure the 1st Armored Division soldiers into setting up a cordon of the area, which might have positioned them directly between the other two bombs, said Capt. Greg Spencer, 31, of Scottsville, Ky., commander of Company A, 1st Battalion, 13th Armor Regiment.
“We don’t normally have three in one day like this, but these guys see this type of environment day in and day out,” said Maj. Andy Boston, the 1-13 operations officer.
“Fortunately, we find a lot more of them than they find of us. But the kick is, we’ve got to be right every time. They’ve only got to be right once.”
Three soldiers were killed and eight others wounded Feb. 25 in Tarmiya, about 20 miles north of Baghdad and just outside Mushada, by a similar roadside bomb, in which explosives were tucked into a hollowed-out log, Army officials said.
In the past week, the 1-13 Armor Regiment, boosted by members of the 70th Engineer Battalion, have uncovered six roadside bombs and been hit by two. No soldiers have been hurt. The group is responsible for securing the road outside Taji — a primary supply route between Baghdad and Mosul — and protecting the convoys that use it, Spencer said. They took over that chore about 10 days ago following the departure of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Cavalry Task Force.
Just after noon Monday, soldiers from the two units were moving toward the Mushada Bridge when Sgt. Joshua Jenkins and Sgt. Jonathan Wolford of the 70th Engineers spotted the first log.
“It had a wooden block underneath, keeping it from rolling down to the road,” said Sgt. Ronny Myazoe, 26, of the Marshall Islands, a combat engineer with the unit who was with the group. “We had to check it out. Sergeant Wolford went around behind it and saw two wires coming out. That’s when we told everyone to run.”
They called in the 766th Ordnance Company, air support and additional ground units to help seal off the area, blocking traffic in both directions.
Explosive ordnance disposal soldiers maneuvered a small, wheeled robot down to the palm log and blew it up at about 1:30 p.m. Thirty minutes later, the second roadside bomb went off.
Army officials speculated it was radio-controlled, targeting the EOD team approaching the first bomb. Immediately after the second blast, armored Humvees and tanks rolled into the area, searching for other logs and anyone who might have triggered the second blast. An Iraqi man, standing about 500 yards from the first explosion, suffered a minor cut to his leg from a piece of shrapnel. He was treated at the scene by an Army medic.
No suspects were taken into custody, officials said.
Familiarity with the terrain has led to the team’s early success in sniffing out roadside bombs, Spencer added.
“It’s definitely a dangerous environment these guys are dealing with,” he said, “but they drive this road a lot. They can see things that are out of place, and it tips them off. They’ve become very adept at it. They can tell you about each crater or hole out there.”
Spc. Kevin Brown, 21, of Dexter, Mo., an M113A3 armored personnel carrier driver for the 70th Engineers, said the battalion is constantly aware of its surroundings and generally suspicious of all roadside items.
“We’re always thinking, ‘Oh, that might be one,’ ” he said, referring to explosive devices. “We’d rather be safe than sorry, so we stop and check it out.”
