Thursday, May 31, 2007

Triangle of Death Hostage Search: Day 19

STILL SEARCHING
The lonely vigils continue in four communities for the two missing soldiers seized in a May 12 ambush.

Neighbors of Maria del Rosario Duran, the mother of Specialist Alex R. Jimenez, have tied yellow ribbons to fences, around trees and on doors on her home in the Corona neighborhood of Queens to show their support for the family. The scene is similar in the town of Lawence, Massachusetts, where Jimenez's father, Ramon Jimenez, lives, and at Fort Drum, New York, where wife Yaderlin resides, as well as in Lake Orion Township, Michigan, home of the adoptive family of Private Byron R. Fouty.

Fouty's stepfather, Gordon Dibler Jr., said he wants his "hero" to come home:
"I can't take a breath without thinking about it. His life is more than a news ticker. He's my hero."
* * * * *
DNA tests are being run on a body that could be that of one of the two missing soldiers seized in the ambush.

Military officials warned that the body, found Sunday at an undisclosed location, did not initially appear to fit descriptions of either Jimenez or Fouty, but there was a suggestion that it was not that of an Iraqi.

Meanwhile, insurgents continue to use tactics elsewhere in Iraq similar to those that precipitated the ambush-kidnappings.

Insurgents ambushed a rapid-response team sent to rescue soldiers in a helicopter crash Monday in Diyala province, killing six with roadside bombs, according to Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver, a military spokesman.

Said Garver:

"They are an adaptive, difficult enemy with an ability to change tactics to adapt to what’s happening on the ground."

* * * * *
Here's an index of previous Kiko's House reports on the ambush and search:

Wednesday, May 30: Chris's Final Resting Place
Tuesday, May 29:
A Shrine to the Dead
Monday, May 28: The Next War
Sunday, May 27: Search Enters Third Week
Saturday, May 26:
A Somber Holiday in Michigan
Friday, May 25:
Memorial Day Edition
Thursday, May 24:
A Vigil For Joseph Anzack

Wednesday, May 23:
A Body Is Found

Tuesday, May 22:
Ambush Victims Come Home For Burial
Monday, May 21: Hopes Grow Slimmer

Sunday, May 20:
A Flicker of Hope But the Trail Goes Cold
Saturday, May 19: The Triangle of Death Up Close

Friday, May 18:
Who Are the Dead and Missing Men?
Thursday, May 17: Has the Search Impacted on the Surge?
Wednesday, May 16: Anatomy of An Abduction & Search

Photograph by Michael Kambor for The New York Times

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