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July 28th,
2008 - US Troops Killed Civilians in June Incident - Military News article by McClatchy
Newspapers News article by Washington Post |
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US Troops
Killed Civilians in June Incident - Military By Dean Yates & Mary Gabriel Reuters July 28, 2008 Baghdad - The U.S. military
said an investigation into an incident in which American troops killed three
Iraqis near Baghdad airport last month showed the victims were not criminals
but innocent civilians. In a statement released at
the time of the June 25 incident, the military said troops fired at a car
near the airport after coming under attack. It called the three people inside
the vehicle "criminals", adding a weapon had been found in the car. "A thorough
investigation determined that the driver and passengers were law abiding
citizens of Iraq," the military said in a statement released late on
Sunday. No weapon was found in the
vehicle, it added. The statement also said
troops involved in the incident were not at fault. A man and two women were killed
in the shooting, local officials said at the time. The result of the
investigation comes at a sensitive time for Washington, which is negotiating
a new security deal with Baghdad to govern the presence of U.S. troops in
Iraq when a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. The investigation also
follows other recent shootings involving U.S. troops that have infuriated
Iraqi officials. "This was an extremely
unfortunate and tragic incident," said Colonel Allen Batschelet, chief of
staff for U.S. troops in Baghdad. "We are taking several
corrective measures to amend and eliminate the possibility of such situations
happening in the future." The military statement on
the results of the probe said a convoy travelling near Baghdad airport pulled
off to the side of the road when one vehicle experienced problems on June 25. While the vehicle was being
checked, a civilian car approached at what soldiers believed was high speed,
the statement said. "Soldiers perceived the
rapidly approaching vehicle as a threat and executed established escalation
of force measures. When the vehicle failed to respond to the soldiers'
warning measures, it was engaged with small arms fire," the statement
added. It said the initial
statement of a weapon being found resulted from a misunderstanding that the
Iraqi Police arriving at the scene had collected a weapon. In late June, U.S. troops on
a raid near the holy Shi'ite city of Kerbala shot dead a man that some
officials said was a distant relative of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. The military at the time
said that incident was under investigation and expressed "deep
regret" at the loss of life. In mid-July, U.S. forces
shot dead the 17-year-old son and another relative of the governor of
northern Salahuddin province in a raid, local officials said. The U.S. military said it
shot two armed men, adding it was later found they were both related to the
governor. © Thomson Reuters 2008. All
rights reserved. External link: http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSL8544106 U.S. concedes Iraq victims
were law-abiding, not insurgents By Leila Fadel McClatchy Newspapers July 28, 2008 Baghdad - The U.S. military said
Sunday that the three people killed last month after U.S. soldiers shot at
their car in one of the most secured areas of Iraq were civilians, not
criminals as the military initially reported. The correction came more
than a month after a bank manager at a branch inside the airport, Hafeth
Aboud Mahdi, and two female bank employees were shot at by U.S. soldiers as
they sped to work on a road within the secured airport compound. The road is
used only by people with high-level security clearance badges. The car veered
off the road, hit a concrete blast wall and burst into flames. The original statement said
that Mahdi and the two women were "criminals" and that an American
convoy on the side of the secured road came under small-arms fire from the
vehicle. Soldiers said they shot back. A weapon was found in the debris and
two U.S. military vehicles were struck by bullets from the attack, the
statement on June 25 said. "When we are attacked,
we will defend ourselves and will use deadly force if necessary," Maj.
Joey Sullinger, a spokesman for 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain
Division, said in a statement at the time. "Such attacks endanger not
only U.S. soldiers but also innocent civilians, including women and children,
traveling the roadways of Baghdad." On Sunday the story changed
and the tone was apologetic. A military statement said that neither the
civilians who were killed nor the soldiers were at fault for the deaths. An
investigation found that "the driver and passengers were law-abiding citizens
of Iraq." Soldiers had pulled off the
road because one of the vehicles in the convoy was having maintenance
problems. As they worked on the vehicle they saw Mahdi's car and thought it
was moving too quickly toward them, the statement said. Believing they might
be in danger, the soldiers warned the car. When the driver ignored the
signals they shot at the vehicle, the statement said. The alleged attack and the
weapon that was said to have been recovered from the burned vehicle were
misunderstandings, the statement said. "This was an extremely
unfortunate and tragic incident," said Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of
staff, MND-B and 4th Infantry Division, in a statement. "Our deepest
regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the family. We are taking
several corrective measures to amend and eliminate the possibility of such
situations happening in the future." Mahdi's son, Mohammed
Hafeth, said the statement was insufficient. He said the image of his father's
burning vehicle haunts him. He'd waited in his father's office that morning
surprised that he wasn't there yet. They'd left at nearly the same time that
morning. Hafeth drives bank employees
to work. That morning his father offered to take one of Hafeth's passengers
and picked up another female bank employee who lived nearby their central
Baghdad home. As he sat in the office a
colleague walked in and told Hafeth his father's car was broken down on the
airport road. Hafeth reached for his car keys. "I'll drive," he
recalled his colleague saying. As they approached his
father's car he saw the flames. He jumped from the car and started to run
toward the burning vehicle, but U.S. soldiers blocked his way. "Go," he recalled
them ordering. But he said he couldn't move. He dropped to the ground and
wept as his father burned inside the vehicle. "Why did they kill him
like this?" Mohammed Hafeth said Sunday in a phone interview. "We
demand that they send those soldiers to an Iraqi and American court." Mahdi was the father of six,
including Hafeth. Hafeth said he now shoulders the financial responsibility
for his family on his approximately $100-a-month salary. "I was shocked that my
father was killed by the Americans," he said. "Supposedly we move
in a secured area ... we used to wave at them and they waved at us." Hafeth said he didn't accept
the compensation offered by the U.S. military. They offered $10,000, he said,
and that wasn't enough for his father's car let alone his father's life. "My father was a
peaceful man," he said. "He never did anything wrong. Everybody
knew his good reputation and everybody liked him." McClatchy Special
Correspondent Laith Hammoudi contributed to this report. External link: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/103/story/45701.html U.S. Says 3 Iraqis Killed In
June Were Law-Abiding Military Expresses Regrets Amid Security Negotiations By Sudarsan Raghavan & Qais Mizher Washington Post July 28, 2008 Baghdad, July 27 - The U.S.
military acknowledged Sunday that American soldiers killed three "law
abiding" Iraqi civilians last month as the Iraqis traveled to their jobs
at the Baghdad airport. The military had initially said the soldiers acted in
self-defense after being fired upon by "criminals." In fact, no weapons were
found in the civilians' car, the military said, adding that an investigation
concluded that neither the soldiers nor the civilians were to blame for the
incident. "This was an extremely
unfortunate and tragic incident," Army Col. Allen W. Batschelet, chief
of staff for the 4th Infantry Division, said in an e-mailed statement.
"Our deepest regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the
family." The announcement comes as
the United States and Iraq are embroiled in delicate negotiations over a
security pact that will govern U.S. military operations and jurisdiction
after a U.N. mandate expires at the end of the year. The Iraqis have demanded
that U.S. soldiers no longer be immune from prosecution under Iraqi law. Their arguments have been
bolstered recently by high-profile incidents in which U.S. troops have been
found to have killed civilians. Last week, U.S. Special Forces killed the son
and nephew of the governor of Salahuddin province in northern Iraq, prompting
U.S. military officials to issue a statement saying they would offer
condolences. Last month, a U.S. military
operation near Karbala resulted in the death of a man identified by some
officials as a cousin of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and by others as a
close associate of his. U.S. officials said troops acted in self-defense, but
the incident sparked widespread anger among Iraqi officials. The family of Hafeidh Aboud,
one of the three civilians killed on their way to the airport last month,
said late Sunday night that the U.S. soldiers responsible should be
prosecuted either in the United States or in Iraq. "Why did they do this
to us? My father liked the Americans very much," said Mohammed Hafeidh
Aboud, 21, one of Hafeidh Aboud's seven children. "The American soldiers
are guilty. Why did they do this? Why?" The shooting took place June
25 as Hafeidh Aboud was on his way to Rasheed Bank, where he had worked for
33 years. In the car with him were employees Suroor Ahmed, 32, and Maha
Youssef, 31. Around that time, a convoy
of American soldiers from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division
(Light), were traveling in the vicinity, the military said. One of the vehicles
developed mechanical problems and pulled off along a road adjacent to the
airport. About 8:40 a.m., as soldiers
tried to repair the vehicle, Aboud's Opel approached the rear of the parked
convoy, according to the military and witnesses. The military said in a
statement that the car was speeding toward the soldiers, who viewed it as a
threat. "When the vehicle failed to respond to the soldiers' warning
measures, it was engaged with small arms fire," the statement said. The three civilians died instantly. "The criminals, who
were traveling in a northerly direction near Baghdad International Airport
fired at the Soldiers," the military said in the statement, released the
day of the incident. "The soldiers returned fire, which resulted in the
vehicle running off the road and striking a wall. The vehicle then exploded.
All three criminals were killed in the incident. A weapon was recovered from
the wreckage." Two vehicles in the convoy,
the military added, "received bullet hole damage from the small arms
fire." Relatives of the victims, as
well as Iraqi police officials and employees of a private security firm that
staffs the checkpoints along the airport road, expressed skepticism at the
time. The checkpoints in the area are numerous and rigorous. "I was surprised,"
said a senior police official responsible for the airport road, speaking on
the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
"You know it's a safe and secure area. How can anyone shoot at
them?" When Mohammed Aboud heard
the allegations that his father had attacked U.S. soldiers, he was shocked. "My father couldn't
even hold a weapon. He didn't know how to use one," he said. "He
taught us when someone slaps you in your face, tell him thank you and don't
retaliate." A week after the incident,
U.S. military officers offered $10,000 each to the families of the three
victims, Mohammed Aboud said. But he said the families refused the sum and
demanded a written apology. "It was only
$10,000," he said. "My father was the main provider for our family.
We are displaced people. We also have to replace our car. "We are in a very
difficult time." Maliki, the prime minister,
called for an investigation into the incident. On Sunday, the military said
that the investigation "confirmed no weapon was recovered from the
vehicle" and that the initial statement rose out of "numerous
soldier witnesses who strongly believe they were being fired upon from the
vehicle." There had also been "a misunderstanding" that Iraqi
policemen at the scene had collected a weapon, the military said. Batschelet, the 4th Infantry
Division chief of staff, said: "We are taking several corrective
measures to amend and eliminate the possibility of such situations happening
in the future." External link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/27/AR2008072701447.html U.S. Military
Says Soldiers Fired on Civilians By Richard A. Oppel Jr. New York Times July 28, 2008 Baghdad - The American
military admitted Sunday night that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of
innocent Iraqi civilians with hundreds of rounds of gunfire and that the
military then issued a news release larded with misstatements, asserting that
the victims were criminals who had fired on the troops. The attack on June 25 killed
three people, a man and two women, as they drove to work at a bank at
Baghdad’s airport. The attack infuriated Iraqi officials and even prompted the
Iraqi armed forces general command to call the shooting cold-blooded murder. It also bolstered calls from
Iraqi politicians to pressure the American military to leave Iraq after this
year, when a United Nations mandate expires, unless the United States agrees
to permit its soldiers to be subject to criminal prosecution under Iraqi law
for attacks on civilians. In a statement issued late
Sunday, the American military said that “a thorough investigation determined
that the driver and passengers were law-abiding citizens of Iraq.” It added
that the soldiers were not at fault for the killings because they had fired
warning shots and exercised proper “escalation of force” measures before they
opened fire on the people in the car. But the findings called into
question the way the military handled the aftermath of the shootings. For example, a key assertion
of the news release issued by the military on the day of the killings was
that “a weapon was recovered from the wreckage.” But the military said Sunday
that no one claimed to have found a weapon in the car or had seen a weapon
taken from it. Instead, one of the soldiers
at the scene reported seeing an Iraqi police officer pull something from the
burned car and then place it in the front seat of an ambulance, according to
Lt. Col. Steve Stover, a spokesman for the Fourth Infantry Division, which
patrols Baghdad. The soldier never said the
item pulled from the car was a weapon, he said. But the soldier’s account
nevertheless formed the basis for a statement in an initial internal military
assessment of the attack, which said that a weapon had been pulled from the
car. “We don’t believe there was
any cover-up,” Colonel Stover said. The investigation also revealed
that the car had already passed through a major checkpoint leading into the
airport, which required the occupants to submit to a thorough search for
weapons and other dangerous objects. As they had many times before, the bank
employees then drove down the main civilian road to the airport. But this time they
encountered a four-vehicle military convoy that was not supposed to be there.
The convoy had taken the wrong road and failed to turn into a military
checkpoint. Instead, the military vehicles had traveled down a road that
serves as the main entry for thousands of Iraqis who drive to the Baghdad
airport. The convoy had stopped on
the side of the road to try to fix a problem with a vehicle when the car with
the bank employees approached. A soldier guarding the rear of the convoy
fired several warning shots, according to Colonel Stover. When the car did
not stop, 9 of the 18 soldiers in the platoon opened fire. In its initial news release
about the killings, the military said that the car then crashed and
“exploded.” But that, too, was false, Colonel Stover said. After the
shootings, the car’s engine compartment ignited, he said, and the fire then
“spread throughout the car.” Soldiers also fired warning
shots near at least two other vehicles, causing them to stop and turn around.
Some of the soldiers involved in the shooting had previously been involved in
what the military calls “escalation of force” episodes involving civilians,
he added. In addition, the military
had stated last month that two vehicles in the convoy had sustained “bullet
hole damage” from the supposed attack. But on Sunday the military changed its
story about that, saying that while there was a fresh bullet mark on one
vehicle, it had nothing to do with the June 25 attack. The soldiers “thought they
were in danger, they really did,” Colonel Stover said, adding that the
soldiers said they had thought they saw gunfire. “We now know there were no
weapons in the car, and there were not any shell casings.” The military’s
investigating officer filed his report on the attack on July 7, and the
soldiers involved returned to duty on July 15. “This was an extremely
unfortunate and tragic incident,” Col. Allen Batschelet, chief of staff for
the Fourth Infantry Division, said in the statement issued Sunday night. He
said the military would take “several corrective measures to amend and
eliminate the possibility of such situations happening in the future.” According to Colonel Stover,
those measures include ensuring that troops do not accidentally travel down
the civilian road to the airport as well as reviewing escalation of force
procedures “to see if they are meeting needs of the current environment.” External link: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/28/world/middleeast/28iraq.html |