Maine soldier killed by bomb in Mosul Journalist reports death, four injured

BANGOR – Insurgents attacked a U.S. military convoy in Mosul early Tuesday morning, killing one National Guard soldier from Maine’s 133rd Engineer Battalion and injuring three others.

A fifth soldier who was not assigned to the battalion was also wounded in the attack. Military officials weren’t releasing the names of the injured soldiers and as of Tuesday evening couldn’t confirm that anyone had been killed.

However, a Portland Press Herald reporter and photographer embedded with the 133rd Engineer Battalion reported one soldier was killed, another was seriously injured and two more had minor injuries.

A spokesman for the Coalition Press Information Center said that one soldier was killed but could not confirm whether that soldier was from Maine.

Maj. Peter Rogers, director of public affairs for the Maine National Guard, said family members of the soldiers have been notified, but military officials were awaiting details about the extent of the injuries before making the names public.

The assault began about 9 a.m. Iraq time with the explosion of an improvised explosive device planted along the roadside in or near the northern Iraq town of Mosul. Insurgents attacked with small arms fire, but battalion soldiers returned fire and “beat back the attack,” Rogers said.

Apparently it was during the firefight that the soldiers were injured, including the fifth soldier who was not from Maine, Rogers said.

In the wake of the attack, Maine officials from Gov. John Baldacci to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins expressed dismay at the attack and wished the injured well.

Baldacci spokesman Lee Umphrey said the governor was deeply concerned about the incident and expressed his hopes for the well-being of the injured and praised the sacrifices the solders made. Baldacci was expected to contact the injured soldiers’ families Tuesday night or sometime today to offer his consolation, Umphrey said.

Snowe said, “They have our unyielding support and profound appreciation, and without question we need to ensure they have the resources they need to perform their duties and return home safely.”

Collins called news of the attack “extremely troubling,” and she said her office staff would support family members in any way they could.

The 133rd Engineer Battalion left Maine in early March to replace an Alabama National Guard unit and to tackle the difficult job of revitalizing Iraq’s troubled infrastructure, building roads, bridges, schools, airfields and houses. Although the unit is based in Gardiner, members come from across Maine and from a broad cross section of the state’s residents, from women in their teens to grandfathers in their 50s.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.