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Killings Database - Year 2005

 

 

 The Killing of 4 Iraqi Civilians in Eskan/”The White Van Shooting”

 

Background - Eskan, February 18th, 2005

 

March 7th, 2005 - Investigation concerning Shooting Incident on 18 Feb 05

Report by the U.S. Department of the Army, 155th Brigade Combat Team

 

“[…] On 18 Feb, I was a vehicle commander while doing a blocking position on route Jackson. There were reports of possible VBIED’s in the area, and the threat level was elevated. Around 2015 hrs, I observed 4 cars approaching from the south. They stopped about 350m away from my location. Psyops were playing message warning people about blocking positions and they need to turn around or deadly force will be used. After observing 4 cars for a few minutes, they started moving towards my location. At about 100 m away, my gunner shot a warning shot into the ground, after which all 4 cars turned around and returned to original location.

Killing aftermath:  white van with bullet holes

“After a couple of minutes, they started moving my location for a second time. When [the] cars reached 100 m from my location, my gunner engaged again. This time into the grille of the leading car. After initial burst, the car appeared to speed up. We continued to engage the lead vehicle until it stopped 20 m from my location. After the lead vehicle stopped, my gunner engaged the other 3 vehicles, after which they turned around and left the scene. […]

 

“[…] At 182334Feb05, Reaper 6 reports that 3 personnel were killed when the Reaper element fired on the van that was trying to run the TCP. Reaper 6 states that there are some survivors but did not have a count at this time. […] Update 3: Eskan Patrol Base indicates that there were 4 dead and 3 wounded males in the van. All personnel were between the ages of 25 - 35 years of age. The 3 wounded males will be evacuated to Eskan Hospital for treatment. […] Update 5: 2117 Haswah patrol base reports that there was no contraband found in the van. Additionally, there was nothing in the coffin that was on top of the van; The coffin wa[s] [redacted] […]”

 

 

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