Abu Hishma

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A small Iraqi town, Abu Hishma (Arabic: أبو هشمة‎) has a population of approximately 7,000 villagers.^[1]

[edit] Iraq War

During the Invasion of Iraq, the orchards outside the village were the site of a number of mortar launches, and on November 17 2003 Staff Sgt. Dale Panchot was killed when his Bradley vehicle was hit by an RPG.

Immediately following the attack, the 4th Infantry Division encased the entire village in Concertina wire, and began hunting for those responsible. The following day, a 500lb bomb was dropped on the house that had sheltered the attackers, and eight sheikhs, the police chief, city council and police chief were all arrested by American forces.^[1] The US Forces, led by Lt. Col. Nathan Sassaman of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, issued villagers English-language ID cards that identified them by number, their age and what type of vehicle they drove. ^[1] This led critics to decry the collective punishment, a tactic forbidden by the 33rd Article of the Fourth Geneva Convention.^[2][3][4]

On July 2 2006, insurgent mortars landed in the yard of an Abu Hishma home, near 4th Infantry Division troops^[5], killing a local girl picking tomatoes. The event made military headlines, as Staff Sgt. Donald White vowed to find those responsible.^[6] Army reports contradicted whether the mortars had been launched from the girl's yard and misfired^[7] or had landed in her yard when distant insurgents had been targeting the nearby LAS Anaconda.^[8]

On December 3, 2006 - Spc. Kenneth W. Haines was killed when an IED exploded, damaging his vehicle, in the village.^[9]

[edit] References