Marines, Seabees Fix Insurgent Handiwork In Lutafiyah
Forward Operating Base Kalsu, Iraq - U.S. Marines and Navy Seabees repaired a a key bridge south of Baghdad Nov. 13 after repeated insurgent attacks left it all but untrafficable to thousands of commuters.
Elements of the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit spent 12 hours fixing the bridge's twin spans running north and south through Lutafiyah, about 20 miles south of the capital.
Militants have struck the bridge with numerous improvised explosive devices in recent months. The latest attacks came on Nov. 3, when a fatal blow buckled and caved the southbound span, and on Nov. 11, when a car bomb left a third gaping crater in the northbound span.
The Nov. 13 repairs opened up traffic in both directions, restoring both lanes on the northbound side and one on the southbound side.
The target of choice, which bridges a canal bisecting Route 8 -- a key corridor through south-central Iraq -- illustrates the willingness of insurgents to victimize innocent Iraqis to achieve their aims.
But according to the MEU commander, the quick reconstruction suggests the futility of the path of chaos and violence.
"We will rebuild what the terrorists tear down," said Col. Ron Johnson. "We will hunt down and destroy those bent on mindless destruction. And we will stand beside the good people of Iraq until they are ready to stand on their own."
Release #041114h
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