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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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June 2nd,
2006 - New ‘Iraq Massacre’ Tape Emerges |
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New ‘Iraq Massacre’ Tape Emerges BBC News June 2, 2006 The BBC has uncovered new
video evidence that US forces may have been responsible for the deliberate
killing of 11 innocent Iraqi civilians. The video appears to
challenge the US military's account of events that took place in the town of
Ishaqi in March. The US said at the time four
people died during a military operation, but Iraqi police claimed that US
troops had deliberately shot the 11 people. A spokesman for US forces in
Iraq told the BBC an inquiry was under way. The new evidence comes in
the wake of the alleged massacre in Haditha, where US marines are suspected
of killing up to 24 Iraqi civilians in November 2005 and covering up the
deaths. The incident is being
investigated by the Pentagon. The US military has
announced that coalition troops in Iraq are to have ethical training
following the furore surrounding the alleged killings. For the next 30 days, they
would receive lessons in "core warrior values", a military
statement said. The news of ethical training
for US-led troops is likely to be greeted with cynicism by many Iraqis, the
BBC's Ian Pannell in Baghdad says, as the troops have long been accused of
deliberately targeting civilians. Cross-checked The video pictures obtained
by the BBC appear to contradict the US account of the events in Ishaqi, about
100km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, on 15 March 2006. The US authorities said they
were involved in a firefight after a tip-off that an al-Qaeda supporter was
visiting the house. According to the Americans,
the building collapsed under heavy fire killing four people - a suspect, two
women and a child. But a report filed by Iraqi
police accused US troops of rounding up and deliberately shooting 11 people
in the house, including five children and four women, before blowing up the
building. The video tape obtained by
the BBC shows a number of dead adults and children at the site with what our
world affairs editor John Simpson says were clearly gunshot wounds. The pictures came from a
hardline Sunni group opposed to coalition forces. It has been cross-checked
with other images taken at the time of events and is believed to be genuine,
the BBC's Ian Pannell in Baghdad says. External link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5039420.stm |