2004 Fallujah ambush
| 31 March 2004 Fallujah ambush | |
|---|---|
| Part of Iraq War | |
| Type | Ambush |
| Location | Fallujah, Iraq |
| Target | Blackwater USA personnel |
| Date | March 31, 2004 |
| Executed by | Iraqi insurgents |
| Casualties | 4 killed |
| ||||||
The 2004 Fallujah ambush occurred on March 31, 2004, when Iraqi insurgents attacked a convoy containing four American contractors from the private military company Blackwater USA who were conducting delivery for food caterers ESS.[1]
The ambush
The four armed contractors, Scott Helvenston, Jerry Zovko, Wesley Batalona, and Mike Teague, were killed and dragged from their vehicles. Their bodies were beaten and burned, with their charred corpses then dragged through the city streets before being hung over a bridge crossing the Euphrates River.[2]
Reactions
Photos of the event, showing jubilant Iraqis posing with the charred corpses, were then released to news agencies worldwide, which caused a great deal of indignation in the United States. This prompted the announcement of a counter-insurgency campaign in the city.
Response
The ambush led to the First Battle of Fallujah, a U.S.-led operation to retake control of the city. However, the battle was halted mid-way for political reasons, an outcome which commentators have described as either a stalemate or an insurgent victory.[3][4][5] Seven months later, in November 2004, a second attempt at capturing the city, the Second Battle of Fallujah, proved successful.
2005 lawsuit
The families of the victims filed suit (Helvenston et al. v. Blackwater Security) against Blackwater USA for wrongful death in January 2005.
References
- ↑ Contractors - The High-Risk Contracting Business | Private Warriors | FRONTLINE | PBS.
- ↑ Bing West (2005). No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah. Bantam Books. p. 3-4. ISBN 978-0-553-80402-7.
- ↑ West xxii. "The Second Phase began in March 2004, when four American contractors were killed and the bodies mutilated in broad daylight in the heart of the city. The US Marines were ordered to seize the city, but then, due to international outrage over televised reportage of the assault, were told to stop. For six weeks the Marines engaged in fierce but inconclusive siege warfare."
- ↑ LeBleu, Joe. "Long Rifle: A Sniper's Story in Iraq and Afghanistan", p. 201. "In mid-April 2003, President Bush decided not to secure Fallujah...laying the groundwork for later U.S. failure there."
- ↑ Scahill, Jeremy. "Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army", p. 205. "The horrors unfolding in Fallujah, coupled with the U.S. failure to take control of the city, and the bold resistance of Fallujah's residents was encouraging other Iraqis to rise up."