U.S. Special Forces troops were in-country long before Iraqi Freedom commenced. They worked with Kurdish military units in northern Iraq with the aim of penetrating Iraqi-held territory once the invasion begins, spotting targets for U.S. airstrikes and laying the groundwork for seizing Kirkuk, a strategic oil city and Mosul, Iraq's third largest city. The deployment marks the first known instance of American forces blending with Kurdish units. During this time the Special Forces, sporting rakish Kurdish scarves atop their uniforms, remained invisible to the public.
U.S. Special Forces along with Kurdish fighters came under a series of attacks from die-hard Iraqi soldiers on their advanced to Mosul. Twenty Five miles east of the city, Iraqi soldiers opened fire with machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars. Pinned down next to a highway bridge, American soldiers joined with the Kurdish fighters to push back the Iraqis in a day long battle. Special Forces controllers called in wave after wave of airstrikes on the enemy. They used scopes and communications equipment to spot Iraqi positions and direct smart bombs to the targets. As the Iraqi troops withdrew, lightly armed Kurdish fighters -- known as "Peshmerga", or "those who face death" took over the bunkers left behind. One Special Forces sergeant praised the Peshmerga as well-disciplined fighters who, even without advanced equipment, could match much of what the U.S. troops do. At one point one Peshmerga commander wanted to know why there was a pause in the bombing. "We're bringing in more planes," the American assured him. "The planes were out of bombs."
In the end four Iraqi trucks were destroyed. Fifty Iraqi soldiers were KIA along with one mortar position destroyed. Just three weeks into Iraqi Freedom, the Kurds along with the U.S. Special Forces, entered Mosul and Kirkuk. |
