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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings, Torture and Big Money |
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February 6th,
2008 - Civilian Deaths Eyed News
article by the Associated Press |
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Allies in Iraq rip U.S. By Associated Press February 6, 2008 Baghdad - The U.S. military
faced complaints yesterday from its Sunni allies over claims that more
civilians had been killed by American forces - amplifying tensions as the
Pentagon tries to calm anger over an air strike last week that claimed
innocent lives. The disputes have strained
ties with anti-al-Qaeda fighters considered crucial in turning the tide
against extremist violence. The latest deaths occurred
when U.S. soldiers - acting on tips - stormed a mud-brick house in Adwar,
near Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit. The U.S. military said a gunbattle
broke out after the troops came under small-arms fire by two suspected
terrorists. It acknowledged a woman was killed and a child was wounded, but
said it was not clear who shot them. Two other men were killed
and the military described them as insurgents. But Iraqi police and locals
said a couple and their 19-year-old son were shot to death in their beds. Monday, the military said it
had accidentally killed nine Iraqi civilians, including a child, in an air
strike Saturday targeting al-Qaeda south of Baghdad. The mistaken shootings also
threaten to jeopardize the fragile relationship between the Americans and
their new Sunni partners. “Such acts by U.S. soldiers
cannot be justified and they will create mistrust and arouse suspicions
between U.S. Army and members of the awakening councils,” said Abu Muthanna,
a leader of a U.S.-backed anti-al-Qaeda group in Baghdad. “This could hurt the
level of cooperation between the two sides.” Both U.S. raids were based
on what the military said was intelligence gleaned from informants. That
raised the possibility that the military was misled into targeting the
households, perhaps as part of an insurgent campaign to derail the
U.S.-backed Sunni revolt. The U.S. military said U.S.
soldiers killed the two men in self-defense. But the head of Adwar’s
Awakening Council, Col. Mutasim Ahmed, said one of the men killed was a
U.S.-allied fighter and said it appeared that gunmen were positioned near the
house and attacked the Americans. “Our own investigation is
continuing and this area is full of al-Qaeda operatives who are not satisfied
with our successful work with the Americans,” he said. “I cannot rule out
that the enemy is trying to sow seeds of division between us and the
Americans.” He vowed to keep up the
fight against al-Qaeda, but said his fighters would break their alliance with
Americans if civilian deaths continued. © Copyright 2008 Associated
Press. External link: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/international/middle_east/view.bg?articleid=1071648&srvc=rss U.S. raid on home leaves
civilians dead Military says troops came under attack and a family was caught in the
crossfire. A relative disputes that account. By Garrett Therolf & Raheem Salman Los Angeles Times February 6, 2008 Baghdad - Three Iraqi
civilians were killed and a child was critically injured when U.S. soldiers
stormed a small home north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. The soldiers were pursuing
members of a suicide bombing network just outside Saddam Hussein's hometown
of Tikrit when they entered the home late Monday and came under fire,
according to the American military statement. The three civilians - farmer
Ali Hamed Shihab; his wife, Naeema Ali; and their son, Dhiaa Ali, 18 -- were
killed in the crossfire when the U.S. soldiers responded, officials said. "We sincerely regret
when civilians are injured during our operations and we make every effort to
protect them," military spokesman Army Maj. Winfield Danielson said. It was the second time in
three days that Iraqis were mistakenly killed by American forces. A
helicopter strike Saturday killed six civilians and three guards aligned with
U.S. troops. Muhannad Ismail Shihab,
whose aunt, uncle and cousin were killed in Monday's attack, said: "I
was shocked when I saw their bodies, and I started to shiver. All of them
were near their beds. The Americans are liars when they said my family was
killed because the soldiers came under fire." A surviving guard, a
relative of one of those killed Saturday, said Tuesday that he had not yet
learned why an Apache helicopter had mistaken the U.S.-aligned
"concerned local citizens" checkpoint for an enemy safe house. "In the meantime, we
are continuing our duties just like before and all of our operations are
underway, but our voices must be heard. If they don't have an immediate
investigation to determine what happened, we will withdraw from the concerned
local citizens," said Mezahim Radam, whose uncle was killed in the
incident. The United Nations' most
recent human rights report on Iraq recorded 88 civilian deaths caused by U.S.
airstrikes during the March-through-June period last year. It urged the U.S.
to pursue a "vigorous" investigation of the events leading to the deaths. Asked whether the request
had led to changes, Air Force Brig. Gen. Burt Field said, "No, I'm
afraid not, and the reason is that we are doing everything humanly possible
to avoid the death of innocent people." Among the weapons in use, he
said, were 500-pound guided missiles intended to create extremely targeted
explosions. "One of the bombs we are using has been dubbed the 'Martha
Stewart Bomb' because you can drop it, and it will blow up a house and not
even touch the buildings to the left or the right," Field said. Maj. Gen. David Edgington,
the top Air Force commander in Iraq, said the military ensures that each
airstrike meets rules in place to minimize civilian casualties. Factors
considered include building materials, civilian schedules in the area and intelligence,
he said. "It's a very scientific
process," he said. "We make these analyses
on every bomb we're going to drop and make sure it falls within the
criteria" to keep harm to civilians low. "We can pretty much
guarantee one bomb for one target." One incident leading to the
U.N. call for investigation occurred in October; 15 civilians were killed
during an airstrike in the Tharthar Lake area, about 50 miles northwest of
the capital. Elsewhere in Iraq on
Tuesday, a joint patrol of Iraqi and U.S. forces west of Samarra, a city 60
miles northwest of Baghdad, freed 10 people who the troops said had been
kidnapped by the militant group Al Qaeda in Iraq, Col. Mazin Younis Hassan
said. The patrol also discovered a mass grave with 50 unidentified corpses,
he said. No insurgents were captured
at the site. Some of the bodies appeared
to be freshly buried, Hassan said. External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq6feb06,1,5202962.story |