A Busy Night So Far
It is only 2030, and we have already received our third "Duck and Cover" alarm of the evening. One was for an indirect fire attack (I didn't hear the impact, although others in my section who were coming in from outdoors said they heard the boom), and two were for small arms attacks in the Embassy compound.
Although rocket/mortar attacks are fairly common, this is the first alert we've received due to small arms fire (not including celebratory fire) in the nearly ten months I've been here. Unfortunately, the security officers here aren't always prompt in explaining what caused the alerts, so it may be some time before I can figure out what is actually going on outside.
However, some perspective is required. Coming back from a shelter after the "All Clear" was given for the indirect fire attack, I ran into a buddy of mine who is stationed in Babil Province, south of Baghdad. He laughed at how seriously the Embassy personnel appeared to be taking the alerts, and noted that they get attacked almost every night in his compound.
So most likely (and hopefully) this is much ado about nothing.
Although rocket/mortar attacks are fairly common, this is the first alert we've received due to small arms fire (not including celebratory fire) in the nearly ten months I've been here. Unfortunately, the security officers here aren't always prompt in explaining what caused the alerts, so it may be some time before I can figure out what is actually going on outside.
However, some perspective is required. Coming back from a shelter after the "All Clear" was given for the indirect fire attack, I ran into a buddy of mine who is stationed in Babil Province, south of Baghdad. He laughed at how seriously the Embassy personnel appeared to be taking the alerts, and noted that they get attacked almost every night in his compound.
So most likely (and hopefully) this is much ado about nothing.
posted by Ben at 7:41 PM
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