One of the most well-known “terrorist attack videos” of the Iraq War shows the complex attack on Camp Gannon on April 11th, 2005.  It shows the suicide truck bombs as they explode just outside the entrance to the camp.  If things had gone just a little differently, and if India Company hadn’t responded quickly and aggressively, there would have been multiple dead Marines that day.  Here on the blog I’ve posted a detailed analysis of the video, plus other information.  And you can read my draft chapter, Attack on Gannon.

Now I have an English translation of the narration you hear on the video.  An Arabic-speaking friend provided it for me.  Its interesting to see the message the AQI media team was putting out, and the BS they were spreading about the attack.  When Iraqis in Husaybah found out the attack had actually failed, AQI’s own lies backfired on them. They were actually ridiculed by some locals, which was a contributing factor in the widening split between the AQI foreign fighters and the populace.

Admittedly, there may be some inaccuracies in this translation.  If anyone can offer corrections, please feel free.  But here’s the best I have for now:

As-salāmu ‘alaykum [Peace be unto you].  From Mesopotamia we launch attack after attack, from the east of the country to the west, and from the north to the south, against the cross-bearers and the unbelievers, against the Americans and their allies, against the apostates [Shiites].  

In this blessed attack, our brother the Lebanese martyr struck the Americans in the Customs Area in Al-Qaim, in the west of the country.  

It was a unique tactical attack the enemy has not seen before, with a specially developed weapon, car bombs and attacks by rockets, which led to the bombing of their headquarters and the special fortified buildings for their engineers and experts inside the Customs Area.

This resulted in great terror among the enemy and the killing of a large number of them.  Ambulances were seen carrying their dead and wounded. And the mujahideen withdrew without any injuries, thanks to God.   

We send this message to the American media and the Arabic media, and to the children of the Zionists [Israel].  

We pledge to Allah almighty, to the Muslims–who are downtrodden everywhere–and to our brothers captured by the enemy, that we will continue on this path and take one of the two pillars, either victory or martyrdom.