Cardin and his fellow Marines were at what the military called a fire base. It’s a term that harkens to the Vietnam War, referring to a temporary outpost that supports bigger bases. Rather than a large compound, a fire base is a bare-bones facility designed to support frontline troops.
The U.S. military has said that its troops were at secured bases. And yet the Marines stationed at this fire base have come under two attacks in three days. On Monday, two days after Cardin’s death, a squad of ISIS fighters stormed a compound housing the Marines. Two ISIS fighters were killed in attack; no U.S. troops were injured.
The Marines were stationed at Makhmour, Iraq, 70 miles south of ISIS’s Iraqi capital of Mosul and the presumed launch point for any offensive. Roughly 100 U.S. advisers are working alongside 5,000 Iraqi troops stationed in the same cluster of bases. The fire base sits just 10 miles from ISIS front lines, defense officials said.
“This is the first time we’ve established a spot that is only American,” Warren said.
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