Omar Khadr

62

Omar Khadr : biography

September 19, 1986 –

The firefight

The men reached a residential complex with earthen huts and a granary surrounded by a stone wall, with a green metal gate approximately 100 metres from the main hut. They saw children playing around the buildingsBravin, Jess. Wall Street Journal. , December 18, 2006 and an old man sleeping under a nearby tree.

American soldiers standing outside the compound. Seeing five men he described as "well-dressed," sitting around a fire in the main residence, with AK-47s visible in the room, Morris has said that he either approached and told the occupants to open the front door or that he stayed out of sight, returned to his men and set up a perimeter around the complex. Either way, the team waited 45 minutes for support from the soldiers searching the first residence. At one point, Morris chided the soldiers from the 82nd for setting up a defensive perimeter with their backs to the house, rather than covering the house.

A crowd of approximately one hundred local Afghans had gathered around the area to watch the incident unfold. An Afghan militiaman was sent towards the house to demand the surrender of the occupants, but retreated under gunfire. Capt. Christopher W. Cirino Reinforcements from the 3rd Platoon of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion 505th Infantry Regiment arrived under the command of Captain Christopher W. Cirino,Fayetteville Observer , August 3, 2002 bringing the total number of Americans and Afghan militia to about fifty.Schmitt, Eric. The New York Times, , August 13, 2002 Two of Zadran’s militia were sent into the compound to speak with the residents; they returned to the US position and reported that the men claimed to be Pashtun villagers. The Americans told them to return and say that the Americans wanted to search their house regardless of their affiliation.Drudge, Michael. VOA News, Afghanistan/Combat, August 1, 2002 Upon hearing this, the occupants of the hut opened fire, shooting both militiamen.Worthington, Andy. , November 7, 2007.Note: The translators have been describe in reports as "wounded" or "killed" by the opening fire

Several women fled the huts and ran away, while the occupants began throwing grenades at the American troops, with intermittent rifle fire. After the firefight, one of the soldiers contradicted this, saying only one woman and one child were present, and both were detained by US forces after exiting the huts.

Morris and Silver took up positions outside the stone wall, when Morris fell back into Silver, with a cut above his right eye and shrapnel embedded in his nose. Both Silver and Morris first thought the wound was due to Morris’ rifle malfunctioning, but it was later attributed to an unseen grenade.Struck, Doug. Washington Post, ", June 9, 2005 In an alternate account, Morris has also said that he was inside the compound and hiding behind the granary, preparing to fire a grenade into a wall of the house, when he was shot.

Morris was dragged a safe distance from the action, and was shortly after joined by Spc. Michael Rewakowski, Pfc. Brian Worth and Spc. Christopher J. Vedvick, who had also been wounded by the grenade attacks.Schult, Ann Marie. ArmyLINK News, "Five Injured in most recent Afghan firefight awarded Purple Hearts", August 2, 2002

At 0910 they sent a request for MedEvac to the 57th Medical Detachment. Ten minutes later, a pair of UH-60s were deployed, with AH-64 Apaches as escort. Arriving at the scene, the Apaches strafed the compound with cannon and rocket fire, while the medical helicopters remained from the ongoing firefight. The helicopters landed at 1028 to load the wounded aboard. A pair of F-18 Hornets dropped bombs on the houses. Speer being unloaded at Bagram.

At this point, a five-vehicle convoy of ground reinforcements arrived, bringing the number of troops to approximately one hundred. Two of these vehicles were damaged beyond use by the militants. Ten minutes later, the MedEvac left for Bagram Airbase and planes arrived, bombing the houses along with the helicopters. The MedEvac reached Bagram Airfield at 1130.