IED Blast

(a note from me: My newspaper requested I take the photo that was here down, so I have taken it down.)

Our first night out on a patrol was suppose to be a night of checking up on check points manned by the Sons of Iraq. Not long after we rolled out of Combat Outpost War Eagle there was a call over the radio that a VBED exploded down the street. So the paratroopers in their MRAPs tore down the street to the explosion. When we got there flames were shooting from the remnants of a van with debris covering the street. It took a few minutes for the paratroopers to realize that their was a body inside the van and half a body lying 10 feet from the van. Photographing the scene was nearly impossible since there was no lights except for flashlights quickly passing over the scene.

Seeing the body lying there in the gutter never felt real. Like it was just a movie set and the man was going to lift his legs out of a hole after the scene was filmed and go over to the craft services table for a cup of coffee and a muffin. But it wasn't. After the fact I'm more disturbed by the picture than the actual scene I laid my eyes on.

Later we found out the two were killed when an IED they were transporting went off in their vehicle, after members of the Sons of Iraq fired shots at them for failing to slow down for a check point.
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Here are a couple of pics from the event that doesn't show the bodies.