From Bill Putnam: On the surface, these two photos aren't anything special or probably newsworthy. They are photos of a sectarian massacre though. Insurgents stopped two busses carrying employees home from work at the Bayji Oil Refinery thermal plant the afternoon of March 31. They pulled nine men off -- six Shia and three Sunnis -- and shot them. All of the Shia and two Sunni died; one Sunni man lived and at last word is still in hospital. The circumstances behind this are obviously a little murky. Penetrating that murkiness is proving a little difficult for the 1st of the 187th Infantry. An official from the Iraqi Ministry of Oil arrived at the refinery the afternoon these photos were made. His drive up from Baghdad was faster than his investigation. No sooner than he arrived at the scene did he surmise it was the "work of insurgents" and concluded it. The next day 17 Shia families started an exodus out of Bayji that continues today. Staff Sgt. Jeremy Shields, 1st Lt. Dave Elliott and Alex the Terp, look at the scene April 2, 2006. A bullet casing from an AK-47 the insurgents used to execute the men. This third photo isn't related directly anyway to the massacre photos. Someone parked a car bomb on Highway 1, the country's main north-south highway which also runs through Bayji. The target was an Iraqi army Security Infrastructure Battalion convoy. The bomb wasn't the suicide version (no body parts found in the debris field) and the SIB didn't take any casualties.

Technorati Tags: iraq, iraq army, military, massacre

From Bill Putnam: I'm back in Bayji, Iraq, and re-embedded with Abu Co., 1st of the 187th Infantry. I was last with the unit in November and December. It's been the best embed I've had in Iraq, period.
The battalion is now partnered up with an Iraqi army battalion recently sent down to the violatile town of Bayji. A grimy city of about 60,000 people in Saluhiddin province, Bayji is also home of Iraq's largest oil refinery. The insurgency is active here because of their funding from the refinery.
Cracking the insurgency here will be a difficult mission. Photographing those efforts has been fairly successful so far.
These photographs were made on my first patrol back. It was also Abu's first time back in to Bayji in almost two months. Almost all patrols and missions here are now joint with the IA battalion."

Sgt. 1st Class Tim Shuler pointing to grafitti that says "Long Live Saddam!" in Arabic.

A junedi from the battalion during the patrol.

A lady doing what Iraqis do best: look directly at cameras.

Technorati Tags: daily life, iraq, iraq army, bayji, junedi, putnam

Here is another series of graphic images documenting the aftermath of one encounter between American soldiers and Iraqi insurgents in Baghdad. It has been loaded by Putnam, who, as of today, appears to be out of action due to some kidney stones. More of Mr. Putnam's images can be seen in his gallery.

The car of insurgents after a chase and firefight against an American patrol in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006

An American soldier aims his M-4 carbine at a wounded insurgent who might have had a grenade in his hand in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. It turns out he didn't.

Iraqi policemen drag the body of the wounded insurgent away from the car for treatment by an American medic Jan. 26, 2006. The medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric.

An Iraqi policeman asks what to do now after dragging the wounded insurgent away from a car after a short chase and gun fight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. An American medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric.

A wounded insurgent grimaces as Iraqi policemen drag him further away from the car he was shot in after a short chase and gun fight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. An American medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric. soldiers also found Iraqi Ministry of Defense identifaction cards in the insurgents' wallets giving some credence to claims by some Iraqi political groups of insurgent infiltration in the MOD and Ministry of the Interior.

An American medic treats a wounded insurgent after a short chase and gunfight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. The medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric. soldiers also found Iraqi Ministry of Defense identifaction cards in the insurgents' wallets giving some credence to claims by some Iraqi political groups of insurgent infiltration in the MOD and Ministry of the Interior.

An American medic and his platoon sergeant talk about a wounded insurgent's state after a short chase and gunfight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. The medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric. soldiers also found Iraqi Ministry of Defense identifaction cards in the insurgents' wallets giving some credence to claims by some Iraqi political groups of insurgent infiltration in the MOD and Ministry of the Interior.

An American medic, his platoon sergeant and another soldier put another dressing on a wounded insurgent after a short chase and gunfight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. The medic counted over a dozen bullet holes in the man's body, including his femoral artery, his lungs and heart. He lived for 90 minutes before he died on the way to hospital. Soldiers searching the car he and three other insurgents were riding in found three syringes, two empty and one full of an unknown drug. Insurgents will sometimes take drugs before fighting to make them more euphoric. soldiers also found Iraqi Ministry of Defense identifaction cards in the insurgents' wallets giving some credence to claims by some Iraqi political groups of insurgent infiltration in the MOD and Ministry of the Interior.

American soldiers move a dead insurgent int to a body bag after a short chase and gunfight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. The insurgents shot up an American patorl. Part of the unit chased after the car, hit it twice with their Humvee and engaged the car with four insurgents inside. Two died instantly, two were mortally wounded. Soldiers found four AK-47s, one PKM machine gun, one RPG launcher, five RPG rounds and almost 1,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, they found three syringes -- two empty and one full of an unknowne drug, and Iraq Ministry of Defense identifacation cards in their wallets.

American soldiers move a dead insurgent int to a body bag after a short chase and gunfight in northern Baghdad Jan. 26, 2006. The insurgents shot up an American patorl. Part of the unit chased after the car, hit it twice with their Humvee and engaged the car with four insurgents inside. Two died instantly, two were mortally wounded. Soldiers found four AK-47s, one PKM machine gun, one RPG launcher, five RPG rounds and almost 1,000 rounds of ammunition. In addition, they found three syringes -- two empty and one full of an unknowne drug, and Iraq Ministry of Defense identifacation cards in their wallets.