Four troop deaths in MRAPs in April, DOD says

Four troop deaths in MRAPs in April, DOD says
By Jeff Schogol, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Wednesday, May 7, 2008

ARLINGTON, Va. — April saw a spate of U.S. troop deaths in Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles, which have been touted as offering more protection against roadside bombs than Humvees.

Two servicemembers in Iraq were killed when their Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said Tuesday.

Another two servicemembers in an MRAP vehicle died in a drowning incident, Morrell said during the return trip from Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ visit to Mexico and Texas last week.

The McClatchy Washington Bureau reported on Tuesday that the roadside bomb that killed the two soldiers was an explosively formed penetrator.

Used by Shiite militants, EFPs fire a slug of high density metal at between 4,000 and 6,000 miles per hour, giving them much more power than roadside bombs made from artillery shells.


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