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We Had No Choice, Says Commando Who Killed Six on Flotilla

(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - When St.-Sgt. S. fast-roped down from a helicopter onto the Mavi Marmara on Monday, he did not expect to be landing in "a battlefield" and facing off against a group of "murderous mercenaries." S. said Thursday that he was immediately attacked, just like the soldiers who had boarded just before him. Looking to his side, he saw three of his commanders lying wounded - one with a gunshot wound to the stomach and another with a gunshot wound to the knee. A third was lying unconscious; his skull was fractured by a blow from a metal bar. As the next in the chain of command, S. immediately took charge. He pushed the wounded soldiers up against the wall of the upper deck and created a perimeter of soldiers around them to begin treating their wounds, he said. He then arranged his men to form a second perimeter, and pulled out his 9 mm. Glock pistol to stave off the charging attackers and to protect his wounded comrades. The attackers had already seized two pistols from the commandos, and fired repeatedly at them. Facing more than a dozen of the mercenaries, and convinced their lives were in danger, he and his colleagues opened fire, he said. S. singlehandedly killed six men. His colleagues killed another three. He is being considered for a medal of valor. "When I hit the deck, I was immediately attacked by people with bats, metal pipes and axes," S. told the Post. "These were without a doubt terrorists. I could see the murderous rage in their eyes and that they were coming to kill us." Lt.-Col. T. said he realized the group they were facing was well-trained and likely ex-military after the commandos threw a number of stun grenades. "They didn't even flinch," he said. "Regular people would move." Assessments are that members of the group were affiliated with international global jihad elements and had undergone training in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan.
2010-06-04 09:53:30
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