On March 31, 2004, four American Blackwater contractors were killed by a mob in Fallujah while escorting a convoy of food trucks, and at least two of their burned bodies were strung from a bridge spanning the Euphrates.
Notes on verification
Multiple independent contemporaneous wire reports (AP via CBS/SFGate), PBS Frontline/NewsHour, Marine Corps historical accounts, and later legal reporting all corroborate the date, victims, circumstances, and the bridge desecration detail.
Sources
- What Does the Future of the Euphrates Spell for the Middle East? (smithsonianmag.com)
- https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/warriors/contractors/highrisk.html (pbs.org)
- https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Horror-at-Fallujah-SAVAGE-ATTACK-Bodies-2772639.php (sfgate.com)
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2012/1/10/blackwater-settles-iraq-killings-legal-case (aljazeera.com)
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brutal-violence-in-iraqi-town (cbsnews.com)
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/middle_east-jan-june04-iraq_03-31 (pbs.org)
- https://digital.bentley.umich.edu/midaily/mdp.39015071755115/742 (digital.bentley.umich.edu)
- https://www.marines.mil/News/News-Display/Article/3350301/operation-vigilant-resolve/ (marines.mil)
- https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/2008/onpoint/chap12-07.htm (globalsecurity.org)