USA Today recounts a skirmish in Mosul. This is what American soldiers are up against in this stage of the Iraq war. Notice the care taken by our forces to avoid civilian casualties.

When he rolled back a concrete block that was sitting on rails, gunfire erupted. Pete estimated the entrance at 2-by-2 feet, barely large enough for a Ranger with 45 pounds of gear to pass through.

Lashaun and Pete fired into the hole and backed out of the room.
Pete tossed in a grenade.

After the grenade exploded, the Rangers moved back into the shower room, Lashaun said. Suddenly, he said, grenades started flying back at them.

Lashaun said he saw one grenade bounce, so he and another Ranger dove through a door before it exploded. Pete and the Ranger retreated to a different room.

Blake, the company commander, said the soldiers had split into two groups of nine each. Gunfire from the insurgents poured out of the bathroom, while Lashaun’s Rangers fired back.

Pete figured bullets passed within 1 foot of him. “I was really stuck basically in a crossfire,” he said.

Meanwhile, Lashaun hustled the women and children toward safety over a courtyard wall.

“He’s risking his life, taking enemy fire, while he’s literally extending himself and pushing women and children over the wall,” Blake said.

Lashaun then linked up with two Rangers, re-entered the house and fired into the bathroom. One insurgent came around the corner, Lashaun said, and the Rangers killed him “right there on the spot.”

The full story, one of the most dramatic accounts of combat to come out of Iraq, is a testament to the skill and bravery of our soldiers, and also to Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today, who tells their story.