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5 Carson soldiers killed in Iraq

By Bill McKeown , The Gazette

Published January 31, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.
Updated January 31, 2008 at 7:54 a.m.

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Sgt. James E. Craig, 26, of Los Angeles

Sgt. James E. Craig, 26, of Los Angeles

Pvt. Joshua A. R. Young, 21, of Riddle, Ore

Pvt. Joshua A. R. Young, 21, of Riddle, Ore

Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, of Athens, Ga.

Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, of Athens, Ga.

Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, of Roscoe, Texas

Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, of Roscoe, Texas

Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer, 20, of Orange, Calif.

Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer, 20, of Orange, Calif.

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Five soldiers killed Monday in an attack on a military convoy in Mosul, Iraq, were identified Wednesday as being from Fort Carson.

According to news reports from the scene, the GIs were part of a joint patrol of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers that was attacked about 12:40 p.m. in the Somer neighborhood of southeastern Mosul.

Maj. Gary Dangerfield, a U.S. military spokesman in Mosul, told Iraq-based media this week that Sunni insurgents began firing at the convoy from a nearby mosque. The soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb exploded near them.

As black smoke rose from a damaged vehicle, a fierce gunbattle ensued. American soldiers cordoned off the neighborhood and helicopters circled overhead, according to witnesses. The U.S. military said that by the time Iraqi soldiers searched the mosque, the gunmen had fled.

The five soldiers killed in the attack were from B Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division.

Their deaths bring to 233 the number of Fort Carson soldiers killed in Iraq. Of those, 28 were members of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team.

The dead were identified as:

* Sgt. James E. Craig, 26, Hollywood, S.C.

* Staff Sgt. Gary W. Jeffries, 37, Roscoe, Texas.

* Spc. Evan A. Marshall, 21, Athens, Ga.

* Pfc. Brandon A Meyer, 20, Orange, Calif.

* Pvt. Joshua A. R. Young, 21, Riddle, Ore.

The deaths were the first for the 3rd Brigade Combat Team since it returned to Iraq in November, its third deployment since the war began in 2003.

The death toll from the attack this week was the second time the Mountain Post has lost five soldiers in a single incident. In early July, Fort Carson's 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 2nd Infantry Division lost five soldiers when they were ambushed by insurgents in Baghdad.

Gazette records indicate the post has lost four soldiers in single attacks three times since the war began.

Members of Fort Carson's 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry were sent to the area to back up a major offensive in the Ninewa province by the Fort Hood, Texas-based 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.

The soldiers, with Iraqi security forces in the lead, are charged with improving security in the province, either by killing or capturing insurgents, said Karen Linne, media relations chief at Fort Carson.

For more of The Gazette story, click here.

Reporters Bill Vogrin, Jennifer Wilson and Perry Swanson contributed to this report.