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ABC Radio reports that Australian troops serving in the Iraqi province of Al Muthanna were attacked by gunmen. There were no Australian casualties.
The gunmen, many of them armed with guns, appeared to have launched the attack with the express purpose of harming Coalition troops: a tactic that brazenly put lives at risk.
The attack came as a surprise to Australian soldiers. Brought up on the film Gallipoli, most have expectations of climbing ancient monuments, engaging prostitutes and harassing defenceless locals. “Sure, there’d be fighting”, Lieutenant Colonel Rawlins told The Daily Grind, “but only after a half-hour build-up and lots of significant looks”. Rawlins indicated that there had been no such significant looks in this case. “The music wasn’t even scary,” he admitted.
RSL President Major General Bill Crews has suggested that Australian soldiers should simply be sent to theatres where there is a greater focus on climbing ancient monuments and engaging prostitutes. “We should play to our strengths,” said Mr Crews. He then fell asleep.
Coalition forces will next month launch a campaign aimed at disarming insurgent gunmen, based on the theme “Careful with those things or you could have an eye out!”
Al Muthanna, like each of Iraq’s 18 governorates, is known locally as “The Sunshine Governorate”.
