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(via FOB Tacoma)
By Drew Brown, Stars and Stripes
BAQOUBA, Iraq — Bombs were going off on one side of the street, while U.S. and Iraqi troops were distributing emergency supplies of food and water on the other.
It was the sixth day of a massive U.S. and Iraqi offensive to clear Baqouba of al-Qaida fighters and other insurgents.
As troops with the 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team continued to press the fight in the section of town known as New Baqouba, other soldiers with the 296th Brigade Support Battalion and Iraqi troops handed out bags of rice, flour and crates of water to residents of Old Baqouba who had been caught up in the fighting.
It was the fourth day that troops had distributed the emergency supplies. At first, only a few residents trickled in. But as word spread, that trickle became a torrent, with hundreds of people waiting in line under the scorching afternoon sun.
As the people waited, Iraqi troops unloaded 50-pound bags of rice and flour, plus countless crates of bottled water.
“What we’re doing is a humanitarian aid function,” said Maj. Scot Pears, of the 296th Brigade Support Battalion. “It’s about a three-week supply for each family.”
The supply drop was one of several throughout the city, Pears said. The day before, troops gave supplies to about 220 families; about 30 families were turned away after supplies ran out.
[...]