2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush

2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush
Part of the Iraq War
Date April 9, 2004
Location Baghdad, Iraq
Result Tactical insurgent victory
Belligerents
United States Mujahideen Shura
Al-Qaeda in Iraq
Casualties and losses
5 contractors,
2 soldiers killed
1 contractor missing
14 civilians and soldiers wounded		 Unknown

Timelines
2003 – 2004 – 2005 – 2006 – 2007 – 2008 – 2009 – 2010
Phases
Invasion – Post-invasion (Insurgency – Civil war)

The 2004 Iraq KBR convoy ambush was an attack by Iraqi insurgents on April 9, 2004 during the Iraq War on a convoy of United States (US) supply trucks near the Baghdad International Airport. It happened in the midst of the Iraq spring fighting of 2004, which saw intensified clashes throughout the country.

A convoy of 26 supply trucks operated by US defense contractor KBR escorted by the 13th Corps Support Command (COSCOM), United States Army. The troops were ferrying emergency jet fuel to Baghdad Airport from Camp Anaconda, 60 miles away. En route, it was attacked by insurgents, believed to be from either Al-Qaeda in Iraq, the Badr Organization, and/or the Mahdi Army. The attack damaged or destroyed numerous convoy vehicles and killed five civilian contractors and one US Army soldier. One civilian contractor, Thomas Hamill, and a US Army soldier Keith Matthew Maupin, were captured. Hamill later escaped from his captors and was recovered by US forces. Maupin was held captive for an undetermined time before being executed.

The body of one contractor, William Bradley, was not found until 2005. Another civilian contractor, Timothy Bell, remains missing and is presumed dead. Fourteen other civilians or soldiers were wounded.

Family members of two of the wounded and one of the killed civilians later sued KBR, charging that the company had knowingly placed its employees in a battle zone in spite of promises not to do so. In April 2009 US District Judge Gray Miller ruled that the plaintiffs could continue their suit against KBR and allowed KBR to include Iraqi insurgent forces in the case. The court ruled that the US Army was not liable.[1] KBR has asked retired US Army Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez to testify on the company's behalf.[2]

References

  1. ^ Flood, Mary, "KBR Aware Convoy In Harm's Way: Civilian plaintiffs claim e-mail shows firm valued profit above life", Houston Chronicle, November 19, 2009, p. 1.
  2. ^ Flood, Mary, "Ex-Commander In Iraq To Give Deposition In KBR Case", Houston Chronicle, March 4, 2010.

External links