SAMARRA, Iraq, Dec. 21 -- Mortar rounds land outside Patrol Base Uvanni so often that soldiers inside barely lift their heads when another deafening thump disturbs the clear afternoon air.
Anti-tank mines appear in the dust a few yards from the entrance to the U.S. base, a brick building that was once part of a college campus. Bullets from random machine-gun fire zip past, and a sunburst of shrapnel scarring from a rocket-propelled grenade remains on the outer wall.
A soldier examines the tail fin of a mortar round that landed 200 yards outside an Army base in Samarra, Iraq.
(Josh White -- The Washington Post)
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Most U.S. bases in Iraq are regular targets of enemy fire, magnets for insurgents trying to hamper reconstruction efforts. Most of the fire misses because the insurgents are not a highly trained military force. But sometimes the attacks hit hard.
The explosive attack in Mosul on Tuesday that caused mass casualties at a U.S. Army mess tent immediately reminded soldiers in Samarra of an attack on a nearby patrol base on July 8, when a suicide bomber managed to drive through the front gate and cause a massive explosion.
That blast killed five U.S. soldiers and four Iraqi National Guardsmen and left an indelible mark on the security forces who remain in this city and continue to face frequent fire.
"You can identify with the confusion they were facing," said Spec. James Simpson, 28, of Atlanta, who said he saw photographs of the Mosul attack on the Internet and immediately knew what the survivors were feeling. Simpson patrols Samarra with Apache Company of the 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment.
"At one moment you can be sitting there, at another moment you wonder what happened."
In the past few days attacks in Samarra have become more frequent, with most focused on U.S. forces in and around their base. Explosions occur several times of day and mortar rounds fall within a few hundred yards of the installation. Insurgents have targeted American soldiers repairing schools and Army snipers hunkered atop a historic minaret, which now bears the circular scars of an RPG blast.
Senior officials here said that the insurgents could be building up to a series of spectacular attacks with the approach of national elections at the end of January, and said they were particularly concerned about a large attack on a patrol base such as Uvanni, where soldiers sleep and eat in large groups. The soldiers do what they can to protect their fortresses, using snipers and regular patrols to thwart attacks.
"More often than not, they miss, fortunately," Capt. Benjamin Marlin, commander of Apache company in Samarra, said of the insurgents. "The attack in Mosul makes you rather upset. That's a lot of families who will have their Christmas ruined. I immediately think about how I can prevent that from happening here."
Lt. Nick Kron, 25, of Richmond, leader of a tank platoon in Samarra, was particularly concerned about the attack in Mosul because he served there with the 276th Engineer Battalion of the Virginia National Guard, whose members were among the casualties. "It's like getting punched and not being able to punch back," Kron said.
The insurgency complicates the mission of U.S. troops, as the enemy has no fixed compounds or strongholds and is continually adapting. There are concerns that insurgents could be infiltrating U.S. bases by buying or coercing information from Iraqis who work or have worked at the installations.
Kron said he once discovered what appeared to be a sand-and-rock mock-up of Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora, north of Samarra, while on patrol nearby. Kron said the apparent reproduction included buildings and a berm built to protect against rocket attacks. Brassfield-Mora is regularly targeted by insurgent mortar fire, he said.
"It shows they're organized and have the means to launch an attack," Kron said.
About six weeks ago, Iraqi forces working in the Samarra area raided a house about 400 yards north of the Uvanni base and made a disturbing discovery: There were 22 rockets positioned for an attack on the base with 20 more at the ready.
Soldiers believe the raid averted the attack, but there was no telling when it would have been launched.
"It's war," said 1st Sgt. Dale Veneklasen. "We're playing by the insurgents' rules. We react to the ignorance and the violence."
