Veterans of the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu have slammed Rep. Ilhan Omar's, D-Minn., for accusing them of killing "thousands" of Somalis and ignoring the fact they were engaged in a United Nations mission designed to protect civilians from a murderous warlord following a devastating famine and civil war.

Danny McKnight, who was the Ranger colonel who commanded U.S. troops, and Kyle Lamb, who was a Delta Force operator, said they were in Somalia in part to protect the Majerteen, Omar's tribe, from the ruthless warlord Mohammed Farah Aidid and his powerful Habar Gidir clan.

Nineteen U.S. troops were killed in Mogadishu in the bloodiest combat since the Vietnam War: 18 in the main battle from Oct. 3-4 and a 19th by a mortar two days later. The battle was immortalized in the 1999 book Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden and the 2001 Ridley Scott movie of the same name that starred Josh Hartnett and Ewan McGregor.

"In helping her tribe, we had to eliminate those who were bad," Lamb told the Washington Examiner. "She should be thankful we were there to help her people." McKnight, who was shot in the neck and arm, told the Washington Examiner: "I really am offended, truly offended, by her comment and her thought that thousands were killed by us. Not true. Not true at all."

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Mike Durant, the pilot who was captured and badly beaten after his Black Hawk helicopter was shot down, told the Investigative Project on Terrorism: “As a nation, we and our political leadership should be proud of what we did there. We put our most precious resource on the line to help starving people. In return, my friends’ remains and those of my comrades were dragged through the streets. I do not hold all Somalis accountable for the actions of a few, but I certainly take issue with the remarks of Congresswoman Omar.”

Omar's comments stemmed from a 2017 tweet in which she was trying to rebut another user's comment that the Battle of Mogadishu was "the worst attack in Somalia history." She responded: "In his selective memory, he forgets to also mention the thousands of Somalis killed by the American forces that day! #NotTodaySatan," said Omar, in response.

Mark Bowden estimated that 500 Somalis died in the battle. Other estimates range from 300 to 1,000 dead, but no reputable source has put the number at thousands. Lamb said the number was wrong, but in any event, all those killed were fighters, not civilians. "We hoped that's what happened," said Lamb, who said civilians had fled the city by that point. "We weren't shooting [non-combatants]."

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McKnight, who was commander of the 75th Ranger Regiment at the time and was played by Tom Sizemore in the movie, said: "Somalis [were] not very good war fighters. I saw so many of them shoot their own people while trying to shoot us," he added.

President Bill Clinton ordered Task Force Ranger into Somalia in August 1993 in response to increasing violence on the part of Aidid's forces. Maj. Gen. William Garrison, then head of the Joint Special Operations Command, was put in charge of the detachment, which included elements from the 75th Ranger Regiment, Army Special Forces, Navy SEALs, Delta Force, and others. His orders were to capture Aidid and his lieutenants.

McKnight said there was confusion from the start. After training for the mission at Fort Bragg, N.C., the operation was called off, only to be reinstated hours later. Task Force Ranger eventually deployed on Aug. 22, though its manpower was cut from 501 war fighters to 450, according to McKnight. Additionally, the AC-130 gunship that was supposed to provide air cover for the troops did not accompany them to Somalia.

"They were worried about collateral damage," said McKnight.

He explained that there is a common misunderstanding among the public that the Battle of Mogadishu was a single event. "We had six fights before we ever got to number seven, which is the one known as 'Black Hawk Down,'" said McKnight. "I think her idea (Omar) was that there was really one that just took place."

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The events in the film took place on the afternoon of Oct. 3, when Task Force Ranger sent 160 men to arrest two of Aidid's lieutenants reportedly holed up in Mogadishu. The situation took a turn for the worse when Pvt. Todd Blackburn fell more than 60 feet from an MH60 Black Hawk helicopter, suffering serious injuries.

U.S. forces decided to evacuate Blackburn and the captured lieutenants via ground vehicles as militia fighters began flooding to their position. Sgt. Dominick Pilla, who was aboard one of the evacuation vehicles, was the first to be killed in the battle.

In the ensuing hours, two Black Hawks were shot down by militia fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenades. Delta Force snipers Master Sgt. Gary Gordon and Sgt. 1st Class Randy Shughart provided cover over the second crash site from another helicopter. They later attempted to secure the crash site, despite the overwhelming odds, in an attempt to save Durant, the surviving pilot.

Shughart and Gordon were killed and posthumously received the Medal of Honor for their actions.

Meanwhile, the Rangers and Delta Force operators on the ground fought street-to-street to secure the first crash site. The detachment rescued the surviving crew but was quickly surrounded by enemy forces. The troops engaged in a prolonged firefight throughout the night until they were rescued by a convoy the following morning. Recognizing there was not enough room in the vehicles for all personnel, some of the troops were forced to run the "Mogadishu Mile" to an assigned rally point with no cover and little ammunition.

Lamb was one of them. "It was a heck of a fight," he said, adding that Omar's remarks do a disservice to the men who fought in that battle.

"The sad thing ... is it starts driving a wedge between the military and her," said Lamb. "I really wish she would stand with us and not against us."

McKnight suggested the congresswoman should check with veterans before making comments about the deadly battle. "I lost six of my Rangers, and I lost some friends from Delta Force and aviators," said McKnight. "I don't really take it kindly that she, who has no clue — no clue — about a military action, that she can make the comments she has made."