IED Attack In Iraq

July 19, 2007 3:50 PM

I'm looking for information about an IED attack in Iraq yesterday that injured a friend of a friend's brother.

My friend Z. writes:

"Andrew's brother got injuried in an IED attack yesterday in Iraq. There are conflicting reports about how he's doing, but the most reliable one says he's probably going to live and not be completely disabled.

"I'm looking for some info about the attack, but I can't find it because I'm not sure WHICH car bomb attack yesterday he was involved it. It could have been one of three.

"His name is Daniel (or Danny) Dudek. He's part of a Striker brigade that's stationed at Camp Taji."

Ian here. Obviously I've searched Google News for both versions of his name, as well as "Striker Brigade" (only four results?) and "Camp Taji," but I can't find any information. Can you? Or can you at least point Z. and me to other resources we could use to find out more?

posted by Ian A.T. to Grab Bag (14 answers total)

Not that it helps much, but it's a Stryker Brigade.
posted by smackfu at 3:53 PM on July 19, 2007

Response by poster: (thanks)
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:56 PM on July 19, 2007

I ran Nexis searches for you under both versions of his name and got nothing, sorry.
posted by TBoneMcCool at 4:26 PM on July 19, 2007

Keep an eye open here. Good luck.
posted by felix betachat at 4:34 PM on July 19, 2007

The Stryker brigade is located in the puget sound area, so checking local sources might help, we usually seem to hear a person-by-person accounting of their casualties during the evening news.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/
http://www.komotv.com/
posted by nomisxid at 5:04 PM on July 19, 2007

This site might be helpful. They list as much information as they can on attacks and how many are wounded.
posted by loosemouth at 5:10 PM on July 19, 2007

Keep an eye on StrykerNews, releases from the DoD (do you know the unit? If so, and if someone in the unit was killed in the attack, God forbid, that might help you narrow it down), and the BBC.

If you can give me the unit and the locations of the three attacks, I can have a look around. Also, a date would be helpful (yesterday, as in Wednesday, July 18, U.S.? There may be a time difference).

Fingers crossed for Daniel's fast and full recovery.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:48 PM on July 19, 2007

Also: CENTCOM.
posted by MonkeyToes at 7:40 PM on July 19, 2007

Let's start with the basics. Which branch of the service is he in? Strykers appear to be Army vehicles, but so many things are shared between the branches these days.... What's his unit? What is this Stryker Brigade part of? Where is it based? And which province is Camp Taji in, anyway?

I've got news coverage on the noncombat death of a Marine in Anbar, from a unit based in California. And I've got coverage on a roadside bomb that killed two Navy bomb-squad techs in Salah ad Din province, from a unit based at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, Washington. It blew under their vehicle, so there'd be several serious casualties apart from the two deaths. If it's neither of those, I haven't seen anything, but I'll keep my eyes peeled.

I'm likely to see details on any Navy casualties from Naval Station Everett. If this brigade of his is in fact Army, the most likely basing in the Puget Sound area is Fort Lewis. There my coverage is not so good, but the Seattle news sources given above will have better coverage to make up for it.
posted by eritain at 1:04 AM on July 20, 2007

Response by poster: Thank you to everyone for their help...this may be the most purely useful AskMe I've ever been a part of.

I don't have answers for your questions just yet, since I don't know anyone involved except my friend Z. However, as soon as I get answers (assuming Z has them) I'll pass them along.

Again, thank you so much for your help. Just when I'm ready to give up on this site...
posted by Ian A.T. at 3:09 AM on July 20, 2007

Response by poster: My friend Z. writes:

"Major Daniel Dudek, Army, 4 / 2 Stryker Brigade, based at Fort Lewis.

"Camp Taji is 20 miles north of Baghdad, and is apparently also known as Camp Cooke. I don't know the province. I assume that Danny was patrolling somewhere in northern Baghdad, but that's just speculation

"No one is sure about the exact Iraqi date, either. At least, his brother Andrew isn't sure. It could have been a couple of days ago even.

"Thank you for all the resources, especially the excellent icasaulties.org. Unfortunately there's no info about the attack that I can find on it yet.

"I truly appreciate your looking. Hopefully, we'll hear something official today."
posted by Ian A.T. at 6:56 AM on July 20, 2007

Thanks for the update.
posted by MonkeyToes at 9:51 AM on July 20, 2007

Response by poster: From Z.:

"Danny's going to be at Walter Reed on Monday. He's got some spinal damage, but signs look good that with a lot of rehab he'll have use of his legs again.

"People in the know have expressed some real surprise that he managed to survive the blast, since his armor was allegedly 'shredded.'"

Both Z. and I thank you for your help and your kind words.
posted by Ian A.T. at 2:09 PM on July 22, 2007

This morning my local paper listed one fatality from 4 / 2 Stryker, apparently from the same blast. Glad it was not our Danny.
posted by eritain at 10:23 PM on July 23, 2007