Originally published May 7, 2007 at 12:00 AM | Page modified May 7, 2007 at 2:02 AM
3 soldiers with ties to state perish in Iraq
Three soldiers with ties to Washington were killed in Iraq on Thursday in roadside bomb attacks that have taken an increasing toll. Staff Sgt. Coby G...
Three soldiers with ties to Washington were killed in Iraq on Thursday in roadside bomb attacks that have taken an increasing toll.
Staff Sgt. Coby G. Schwab, 25, who lived in Puyallup, and Cpl. Kelly B. Grothe, 21, of Spokane, were killed when a blast hit the armored Buffalo vehicle they were traveling in on a mission to clear a road in Ramadi.
Schwab was originally from Henderson, Nev., and his wife is an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Lewis, said Sgt. 1st Class Daniel Coon, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Reserve.
Grothe was a 2004 graduate of Central Valley High School.
In a separate incident in Baghdad on Thursday, Pfc. Jerome Potter, 24, who grew up in Thurston County, was killed by a roadside bomb blast, according to accounts from his family reported by The Associated Press.
The Department of Defense had not announced Potter's death as of Sunday night.
Counting Potter, the soldiers' deaths bring the number of military personnel and civilian contractors with ties to Washington killed since Sept. 11, 2001, to 180, according to a database maintained by The Seattle Times. Of those, at least 68 were killed by roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices.
An AP database counts 3,373 U.S. deaths in Iraq as of Sunday.
The attack that killed Schwab and Grothe illustrates how insurgents using roadside bombs have become more sophisticated.
An initial blast injured five soldiers from Washington, Idaho and Montana in another vehicle. The Buffalo that Schwab and Grothe were in pulled up to assist the injured soldiers when the second bomb was detonated, spokesman Coon said.
All seven soldiers involved in the attack were from the 321st Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Army Reserve, based in Hayden Lake, Idaho. The unit has been in Iraq since September to clear roadside bombs and protect convoys, Coon said.
Potter's family said he was based at Fort Hood, Texas, and went to Iraq in October.
Ramadi in Anbar Province has been known as one of the deadliest parts of Iraq, with an entrenched Sunni Arab insurgency. Recent reports suggested that a corner has been turned there.
"Many Sunni tribal leaders, once openly hostile to the American presence, have formed a united front with American and Iraqi government forces against Al Qaeda," The New York Times reported late last month.
Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company
NEW - 12:17 AM
Big demand, grim outlook for state Basic Health Plan
UPDATE - 11:31 PM
Flood fears dampen business, home sales
Nicole Brodeur: Homeless woman bent on giving
Portland cafe's specialty: medical-marijuana tokes
Thousands of tax-refund checks undeliverable

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
1 New Miller Safety Harness and 2 new shock absorb - $245
1960s Couch - $75
1ct Rd GIA Cert - $4600
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Tuesday, Nov. 24
- 5th Annual Urban Craft Uprising
- Bella Umbrella Holiday Sale
- Thanksgiving Weekend Sales at The Bravern
- Metropolitan Pilates Pre-Thanksgiving Sale
editors' picks
- Local jewelry designers
- Vintage, consignment and used clothing
- Independent bookstores
- Maternity shopping
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Jerry Brewer | Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Husky Football Blog | Ranking the Pac
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
406 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
106 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
94 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
76 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- It's possible to recover a life lost to hoarding
- Child-support error costs nearly $21,000
- 'The Road' takes Viggo Mortensen to Mount St. Helens and Astoria, Ore.
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research

