From 2Slicks Forum:  I'm sure you've all heard about the recent attack in Mosul- the situation is still developing, and I won't comment on any of the specifics that I know at this time. We are now in that "pre-notification" period during which time thousands of family members agonize with grief and worry about thier loved ones who are stationed there. We all hate days like these.

I can tell you that rocket and mortar attacks are not new. They occured almost every other night (sometimes during the day) when I was there last year, and I'm sure it's no different today. Some poor Iraqi guy pops off some rounds and collects $220 from a local terrorist financier. Usually the rounds impact harmlessly somewhere in the AO. The general consensus was that the worse case scenario would be a direct hit on the dining facility during meal hours. It would take a carefully coordinated attack to pull that off, and it seems that this might be what happened. We'll see how the facts pan out. It's just a sad situation, and I'm sure you'll all join me in expressing condelences to all the victims (casualties and their loved ones) involved in this attack.

From the Jawa Report at  1:11 PM; 

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Rockets struck a mess tent at a military base in Mosul where hundreds of U.S. soldiers had just sat down to lunch Tuesday, and military officials said at least 20 people were killed and more than 60 were wounded. A radical Muslim group, the Ansar al-Sunnah Army, claimed responsibility.

The dead included U.S. military personnel, U.S. contractors, foreign national contractors and Iraqi army, said Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, commander of Task Force Olympia in Mosul.

Clearly horrible news, though the claim of responsibility by Ansar al-Sunnah Army (Army of al-Sunnah) is no shock. They operate in Northern Iraq, namely Mosul, and have been responsible for many of the recent terrorist attacks in Mosul.

Apparently the city of Mosul is divided by the Tigris River not just geographically, but ethnically as well. On the Eastern side of the Tigris, the Kurds live and U.S. soldiers can patrol with releative security. On the Western side of the Tigris is the side dominated by Arabs. The U.S. base in Mosul is on the Western side of the Tigris.

Almost every day terrorists do "drive-by" rocket attacks on the base and plant IEDs just outside the base. Of course most mortar rounds miss critical facilities within the base, however this one hit a crucial area.

From Command Post;   

"An explosion at a U.S. military base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul caused "multiple casualties," the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement. The cause of the blast, which took place at noon local time, is under investigation, according to the statement, which didn't specify how many people have been killed or wounded. More as it develops."

From Aljazeera;

(...) Witnesses said the bombardment took place at 4.a.m. ET  at the al-Ghizlani military camp, about three miles south of Mosul, 220 miles north of Baghdad.

(Click image to enlarge)

The official said the fore mentioned operating base is used by both U.S. troops and the Iraqi security forces.

A breakdown of the casualties was not immediately available, a military statement released in Baghdad only said that there were "multiple casualties."

In a statement posted on an Internet site, a militant group claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it was a "martyrdom operation" targeting a mess hall in the al-Ghizlani camp.

In August, the same group claimed responsibility for the beheading of 12 Nepalese hostages. It also claimed responsibility for recent attacks in Mosul.

Mosul has witnessed one of the deadliest attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq on Nov. 15, last year, when two Black Hawk helicopters crashed over the city, killing 17 soldiers and injuring five others. The crash occurred as the two choppers moved to avoid ground fire from fighters.

Mosul, Iraq's third-largest city, enjoyed relative peacefulness in the immediate aftermath of the fall of Saddam Hussein  regime last year, but rebel attacks have increased intensely over the past year, specially since the U.S.-led military operation in November to regain control over the restive city of Fallujah.  Continue reading Aljazeera...

From News.com.au (Australia):

(...)  The force of the explosions knocked soldiers off their feet and out of their seats. A fireball enveloped the top of the tent, and shrapnel sprayed into the men," Jeremy Redmon said.

"Amid the screaming and thick smoke that followed, quick-thinking soldiers turned their lunch tables upside down, placed the wounded on them and gently carried them into the parking lot."

The Al-Qaeda linked Army of Ansar al-Sunna, claimed reponsibility for the attack on "American crusaders" in Mosul in a statement attributed to the group posted on an Islamist website.

"One of the mujahedeen of the Army of Ansar al-Sunna carried out a martyrdom-seeking (suicide) operation in a restaurant of the infidel occupation forces at the Ghazlani camp in Mosul," the statement, whose authenticity could not be independently confirmed, said.

The White House said it would not let insurgents "derail" democracy in Iraq.

"They will be defeated and a free and peaceful Iraq will emerge. When it does, it will be a major blow to their ambitions and the ambitions of those who espouse hatred," said spokesman Scott McClellan said.

The attack came a day after US President George W. Bush acknowledged in a year-end press conference that bombings in Iraq were having an impact but vowed to press forward with the January 30 elections.

Casting a somber note, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in New York told reporters only Iraq can decide whether to go ahead with elections next month, but he warned that the ongoing bloodshed would have an effect on the polls.

"The decision (to) go ahead or not is the Iraqis' decision, not ours," he said. "But the violence, if it continues, will have an impact on the elections. Elections don't take place in a vacuum."

Blair, on a surprise visit that was kept secret until his arrival because of security concerns, warned that deadly unrest would continue after the elections but said he hoped all Iraqis would take part.

"There are major problems ... but holding the elections will have its own impetus towards greater security," Blair told reporters inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, home to the Iraqi government and US embassy.

"I think that everyone understands there will be violence that will continue even after the election," he said, standing alongside his Iraqi counterpart, Iyad Allawi.

Continue reading News.com.au(Australia)...

More update from Jawa Report and Six Meat Buffet:

Cross posted at InTheBullPen...
(...)
Two of the slain soldiers were from the Richmond-based 276th Engineer Battalion of the Virginia National Guard. They are the first fatalities for the unit since it arrived in Iraq nearly a year ago.

Hundreds of U.S. soldiers had just sat down for lunch about noon when rockets launched by insurgents hit the giant dining tent.

The force of the explosions knocked soldiers off their feet and out of their seats. A fireball enveloped the top of the tent, and pellet-sized shrapnel sprayed into the men.

Amid the screaming and thick smoke that followed, quick-thinking soldiers turned their lunch tables upside down, placed the wounded on them and gently carried them into the parking lot.

"Medic! Medic!" soldiers shouted. Medics rushed into the tent and hustled the rest of the wounded out on stretchers. 

Scores of troops crammed into concrete bomb shelters outside. Others wobbled around the tent and collapsed, dazed by the blast.

"I can't hear! I can't hear!" one female soldier cried as a friend hugged her.

Near the front entrance to the chow hall, troops tended a soldier with a gaping head wound. Within minutes, they zipped him into a black body bag. Three more bodies were in the parking lot then.

Soldiers scrambled back into the hall to check for more wounded. The explosions blew out a huge hole in the roof of the tent. Puddles of bright red blood, lunch trays and overturned tables and chairs covered the floor.

Grim-faced soldiers growled angrily about the attack and swore as they stomped away.

Sgt. Evan Byler, of the 276th, steadied himself on one of the concrete bomb shelters.

He was eating chicken tenders and macaroni when the bomb hit. The blast knocked him out of his chair. When the smoke cleared, Byler took off his shirt and wrapped it around a seriously wounded soldier.

Byler held the bloody shirt in his hand, not quite sure what to do with it.

"It's not the first close call I have had here," said Byler, a Fauquier County, Va., resident who survived a blast from an improvised explosive device while riding in a vehicle earlier this year.

Byler started walking back to his base when he saw a soldier collapse from shock on the side of the road. Byler and 1st Lt. Shawn Otto of Williamsburg, Va., also of the 276th, put the grieving soldier on a passing pickup truck.

The 276th, with about 500 troops, had made it a year without losing a soldier and is preparing to return home in about a month.    Continue reading at TimesDispatch.com..

thos inserginecy who get arrested ... better to be shot at the public without going to court , they are killers and dont understand dimocracy .Dimocracy applicable in stable country and no way to impose it in such hostile country . those people(insurgency) r rubbish and they use to be in power durint the saddam era , now they lost ... so they r fighting to get position by force... the result they will loose and many people get killed , .. i do suggest killing them without court as they are dont deserve to live. we appreciate really what american doing in iraq.