Russia Bombs Base in Georgia that held US soldiers!

[link to www.navytimes.com]


Tensions escalate between Russia, Georgia

Report: Bomb dropped on base where Marines trained last month


By Musa Sadulayev - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Aug 8, 2008 13:01:46 EDT


DZHAVA, Georgia — Russia sent columns of tanks and reportedly bombed Georgian air bases Friday after Georgia launched a major military offensive to retake the breakaway province of South Ossetia, threatening to ignite a broader conflict.

One Russian plane had dropped a bomb on the Vaziani military base near the Georgian capital, but no one was hurt, said Georgian State Minister for Reintegration Temur Yakobashvili.

More than 1,000 U.S. Marines, soldiers and airmen were at the base last month teaching combat skills.

Operation Immediate Response 2008 was held from July 15-July 30, with U.S. personnel training about 600 troops at a former Soviet base near Tbilisi, the largest city and capital of Georgia.

U.S. soldiers, Marines, and airmen taught combat skills to Georgia soldiers, as well as about 30 troops from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. The exercise included simulated threats from roadside bombs and other challenges troops might expect in Iraq, according to U.S. military statements.

Georgia President Mikhail Saakashvili praised the exercise July 21, saying on Georgian television that it showed the country had “the best trained and equipped army” in the strategic Caucasus mountain region. The region includes Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Georgia has about 2,000 troops in Iraq, making it the third-largest contributor to coalition forces after the U.S. and Britain.

Hundreds of civilians were reported dead in the worst outbreak of hostilities since the province won de facto independence in a war against Georgia that ended in 1992. Witnesses said the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali was devastated.


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