Via local news, KPRC, here in Houston:
Pvt. Kristian Menchaca, 23, from Houston, and Pvt. Thomas Tucker, 25, of Madras, Ore., were last seen on Friday during an attack on a roadside checkpoint south of Baghdad.Another solider, David Babineau, 25, of Springfield, Mass., was killed in the attack.
An Iraqi farmer said he saw seven heavily armed gunmen capture the two soldiers.
The White House is promising to do everything it can to find the men.
Some background on the men is starting to emerge:
“He enjoys being in the military,” Christina Menchaca said of her husband, whom she last heard from by e-mail on Tuesday. “That’s basically what he wants to do.”
Kristian Menchaca’s mother, Maria Vasquez of Brownsville, said soldiers had visited to tell her that her son was missing.
She said she last heard from her son a few weeks ago. Along with asking for some treats from home, like Cheetos and cleaning wipes, the soldier told his mother he was working at a checkpoint.
“I’m a little bit nervous, and I cannot sleep,” she said. “I worry about him.”
A $100,000 reward is reportedly being offered for their safe return:
A Yusufiya resident, who said his house was searched by U.S. soldiers Sunday afternoon, said the Americans were using translators to offer $100,000 for information leading to those who took the soldiers.
The U.S. military denied a reward had been offered. It said only that coalition and Iraqi forces were continuing the search and “will continue to use every resource available.”
The man in Yusufiya said he would not cooperate.
A group linked to al-Qaeda has claimed responsibility:
An umbrella group linked to al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed Monday that it had kidnapped two American soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad, where 8,000 Iraqi and U.S. troops were conducting a massive search.The group, called the Mujahedeen Shura Council, also claimed it had kidnapped four Russian diplomats and killed a fifth in Baghdad on June 3.
Sadly, given the way these things work, I think we’ll probably be seeing video confirmation soon.
Dan Rielh is blogging this as well.
The Fast Squirrel reminds quotes the Ranger Creed:
Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.
Agricola has some good advice:
Buckle your chin-straps, gentle readers. Our resolve is going to be tested.
An unidentified Pentagon source is making some interesting comments on the al-Qaeda hostage claim:
“There’s no indication it’s an authentic claim,” said one official at the Pentagon, who spoke on condition of anonymity.“The folks on the ground (the U.S. command in Iraq) aren’t giving it much credence,” the official added.
I would expect officials to hold off on a confirmation but these comments don’t really sound like the standard feedback. Either way the search operation is MASSIVE:
More than 8,000 U.S. military personnel and Iraqi soldiers and police are working together to find the missing soldiers, Caldwell said.
U.S. Navy and Air Force fighter-attack jets; E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or JSTARS, aircraft; and Predator unmanned aerial vehicles are involved in the search effort, Caldwell said. Three pararescue dive teams and “national assets of varying types” also are supporting our efforts, he added.
“We have surged intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platforms and employed planes, boats, helicopters and UAVs to ensure the most thorough search possible on the ground, in the air and in the water,” the general said. Searchers have cleared about a dozen villages in the area, and coalition forces continue to engage local citizens for help and information, he added.
So far, seven U.S. servicemembers have been wounded in action during the search, Caldwell said. Three enemy fighters have been killed, and 34 detainees have been taken into custody. Citizens have provided 63 tips, leading to 12 cordon-and-search operations, eight air assault operations and 280 flight hours flown.
“We are using all available assets, coalition and Iraqi, to find our soldiers, and will not stop looking until we find them,” Caldwell told reporters.
I have the address of a website run by one of the soldier’s family members. I’ve decided not to link to it. It can be argured that it’s not personal if it’s posted to the web but I don’t think she expected to find herself in the position she’s in today. If it furthered the story in any way I’d link to it. It doesn’t so I won’t. I’ll leave violating the personal space of agonizing family members to the mainstream media. If you have any thoughts on this I’d love to hear them.
From CNN we learn that the Missing soldier’s family is in shock. Really? Thanks CNN. We never would have guessed.
Sad news from CNN/Reuters. Iraq’s Defense Ministry is reporting that the bodies of both soldiers have been recovered. This has not been confirmed. Posting will contniue here.
More:
Welcome Michelle Malkin readers. See the update on the threatening comments left on Blogs of War.
19 Responses
Readers are solely responsible for the comments they post. Comments do not necessarily reflect the opinion or approval of Blogs of War or John Little.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:00 pm
Many more of your soldiers gonna be killed in the days and weeks ahead. Summary of death will be as follows: we’ll cut their genitals/boobs depending on their gender, disembowel their intestines and slit their throats and then post the videos of the executions/massacres on our newssites: http://www.kavkazcenter.com and english.aljazeera.net.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:03 pm
2 U.S. troops sought amid abduction report
U.S. troops on Saturday searched for two soldiers missing after an attack that killed one of their c
June 19th, 2006 at 1:22 pm
OUR MISSING SOLDIERS
Via Breitbart.com/AP: An umbrella group that includes al-Qaida in Iraq claimed in a Web statement Monday that it had kidnapped two U.S. soldiers reported missing south of Baghdad. There was no immediate confirmation that the statement was credible, alt…
June 19th, 2006 at 1:35 pm
GI’s abducted in Iraq’s ‘triangle of death’
One of the soldiers is from Houston. The other is from Oregon. The two have been identified as Army Pfc. Kristian Menchaca, 23, and Pfc. Thomas L. Tucker, 25.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:11 pm
RE: MansurAlIraqi’s comment “Many more of your soldiers gonna be killed in the days and weeks ahead.”
MansurAlIraqi:
We own you. We can take your little hellhole of a country and occupy it for as long as we like. Drain every barrel of oil from it and leave you with nothing but dust and camel dung. And don’t forget it, bub.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:15 pm
Breaking News: Al-Qaeda Claims they have our Soldiers
Those bastards claim they have our soldiers. Please excuse my language, but that is putting it nicely of what I really think of these evil killers and this infuriates me. We must pray for these soldier …
June 19th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
Missing Soldiers – The Russian Connection
Catching up on the news of our missing soldiers reminded me of a previous post which left me curious about the Russians in Iraq. New reports suggest this group is the one which kidnapped four Russians in June. They were
June 19th, 2006 at 4:19 pm
Group Linked To Al-Qaeda Claims Abduction Of Two Missing Soldiers In Iraq
Out of the six groups, only al-Qaeda and Jaish al-Taifa al-Mansoura had been responsible for any large scale-operations.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:30 pm
Please keep us posted on the results of your contacts about alIraqi. I want to know that wart has been removed from the fanny of the world.
June 19th, 2006 at 7:52 pm
Missing Soldiers
A claim has been made on an internet site that the terrorists in Iraq kidnapped the two missing American Soldiers. US forces have organized a massive search operation to try to locate the two.
"Your brothers in the military wing of the M…
June 19th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
Warning: Random thoughts from confused and dazed individual.
I’ve boiled it down to this. The ARMY says “Hey you guys stand here” Then everybody went to lunch? No backup? No quick reaction force? No reinforcements? These guys were attacked by a foe that usually just wants to kill and not take prisoners? What do you mean missing?
Bloomberg:
The search began within minutes of the attack, after communications with the checkpoint ended, Major General William Caldwell said yesterday.
The missing soldiers were part of a unit checking vehicles at a canal crossing near the Euphrates River, in the vicinity of Yusifyah south of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. Coalition soldiers nearby reported hearing an explosion and small-arms fire at about 7:55 p.m., Caldwell said.
AP:
Ahmed Khalaf Falah, a farmer who said he witnessed the abduction of the Americans on Friday, said three Humvees were manning a US checkpoint near Youssifiyah, about 12 miles south of Baghdad, when they came under fire from many directions.
Two Humvees chased after the assailants, but the third was attacked before it could move, he said. Seven masked gunmen, including one carrying what appeared to be a heavy machine gun, killed the driver of the third vehicle, then took the other two soldiers captive, Falah said.
CBS:
What puzzles military officials about the soldier’s disappearance is why the team seemed so isolated at the time of the attack, reports CBS News correspondent Lee Cowan. U.S. commanders say it would only be under extraordinary circumstances that a US patrol would split up.
But CBS News has been told that the Humvee from where the men disappeared was at a canal crossing at the time of the attack. They were separated by a couple hundred yards from their nearest U.S. colleagues — who were at a checkpoint to the northeast. Military officials don’t know why they may have been that far away from a checkpoint alone — but they’re casting doubt on witnesses who say that the doomed soldiers were left there after the other U.S. soldiers sped off in pursuit of the attackers.
AP:
The three were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Ky.
Despite the presence of more than 130,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, abductions of American service members have been rare, with three previous cases reported.
June 21st, 2006 at 2:46 am
I dont get why when Americans mess up like the whole prison scandal its like the “end of the world” and everyone gives us shit but when some assholes kidknap, torture and behead soldiers usually journalists people who arent even fighting it barely gets global recognition.
June 21st, 2006 at 4:12 am
God bless the souls of Menchaca and Tucker.
June 22nd, 2006 at 12:22 am
kristian was a friend of mine in high school.
ive lost contact with him for two years.
its said to hear about him like this
damn those who did this!!
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:29 am
Comment by cantson:
“We own you. We can take your little hellhole of a country and occupy it for as long as we like. Drain every barrel of oil from it and leave you with nothing but dust and camel dung. And don’t forget it, bub.”
—————————–
These types of comments only re-inforce the complete lack of respect that people outside the USA feel towards Americans and the foreign policy of the government that they voted to power, again.
You obviously don’t know anyone from the middle east. They are beautiful people with a wonderful culture that you simply do not understand. Read a book on the middle east and islam. Educate yourself and you will see the absurdity and narrow-mindedness of your comment.
June 23rd, 2006 at 4:33 pm
KRISTIAN MENCHACA IS PRACTICLY MY BROTHER. SOMEONE I WILL NEVER FORGET. HE IS ALWAYS IN MY HEART,EVER SINCE HE LEFT HOUSTON FROM HIS VACATUIONS JUST LAST MONTH. .I THANK GOD THAT I WAS ABLE TO SPEAK TO HIM THAT SAME DAY OF HIS ABDUCTION. I WAS WONDERING WHY HE NEVER CALLED ME BACK SINCE I NEVER REALLY GOT TO SAY GOODBYE CAUSE THE LINE LOST SIGNAL.
June 23rd, 2006 at 6:47 pm
In response to:
Comment by Dr. Murray 06.23.06 @ 6:29 am
These types of comments only re-inforce the complete lack of respect that people outside the USA feel towards Americans and the foreign policy of the government that they voted to power, again.
You obviously don’t know anyone from the middle east. They are beautiful people with a wonderful culture that you simply do not understand. Read a book on the middle east and islam. Educate yourself and you will see the absurdity and narrow-mindedness of your comment.
How dare you sir?! Have you been to Iraq since this war has begun? Do you not know what is happening to our soldiers? If those people were as “beautiful” as you say “with a wonderful culture” as you say, then why don’t they take over for our troops and start putting their country back together? Instead, they smile at our guys one minute and launch RPG’s and other weapons at them the next. That is not a beautiful person. Sorry to inform you but books about the middle east will only portray what an author wants you to think and see. As with our own government and news in the US.. they make the citizens of this country think everything that is happening there is so great. I’ve got news for ya!… It’s WAR. My husband is there and I hear things that he has seen and lived through that no human being should ever have to. You really need to wake up sir! Talk about “and narrow-mindedness” as you say…. look in the mirror! My husband was on the team that recovered these soldiers bodies… you have no idea what you are talking about when you say these people (Iraqi’s and Islam) are beautiful. Only the sick and mental could ever devise such a horrific deed against our soldiers. I hope they all burn in hell for what they have done.
June 23rd, 2006 at 7:41 pm
Funny how Dr. Murray finds cantson’s comments offensive but has nothing to say about the first comment:
“Many more of your soldiers gonna be killed in the days and weeks ahead. Summary of death will be as follows: we’ll cut their genitals/boobs depending on their gender, disembowel their intestines and slit their throats and then post the videos of the executions/massacres on our newssites”
June 27th, 2006 at 11:34 pm
OK ManSur,,, That will be one to every 100 we kill of your rag tag , so called , sorry chumps, and we will dominate that country , move on to Syria, and Iran, and ,, Yes, there will be more American soilders dead,,, but that is what they SIGN up for,,, And your most likely eating McDonalds, and watching porn,, as you read you book of lies(Koran), and you will be yelling how much you hate America,,, But at you will be living like one,,,, Your hate for USA,, is only fueled by you ENVY, of OUR great country… Ya big dummie. :-)