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More on Fallujah police shooting
Heavily edited to just the new stuff.FALLUJAH, Liberated Iraq (AP) - Insurgents killed one U.S. soldier and wounded three others Sunday outside the troubled city of Fallujah, a day after angry protesters fired weapons and called for violence against the American occupation to protest one of the most serious friendly fire incidents of the Iraq war. The military provided few details, but Massoud Ibrahim, a soft drinks vendor who saw the attack, said rocket-propelled grenades were fired at an American truck and armored vehicle. Insurgents also fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a helicopter that arrived after the attack but missed, he said. The helicopter was unable to land. An armored vehicle was seen being towed away. The city center was quiet Sunday. Shops were open despite a one-day strike that shut government offices in protest of the friendly fire killings early Friday, and people went about their daily business. Relations between people in Fallujah and U.S. forces have been extremely tense since shortly after the city was captured in April. The U.S. administrator for Iraq on Sunday commented publicly on the accidental killing of eight Iraqi policemen by U.S. forces who mistook them for guerillas. He called the incident regrettable and suggesting victimsâ families might be compensated. ``The very regrettable incident in Fallujah is still under investigation by our military. We have expressed regrets for it publicly,ââ L. Paul Bremer said at a news conference with visiting Secretary of State Colin Powell. ``When we have reached conclusions about how the incident came about, weâll take appropriate steps. In the past we have paid families ... where we felt it was appropriate, but this incident is still under investigation.ââ Powell arrived in Baghdad on Sunday for his first visit since the U.S.-led ouster of Saddam Hussein. He said he was encouraged by progress toward self-rule. He stood fast against growing international pressure to quickly turn responsibility for running the country back to Iraqis. ``The worst thing that could happen is for us to push this process too quickly before the capacity for governance is there and the basis for legitimacy is there and see it fail,ââ Powell said. For those who think Powell doesnât have a spine, this is a pretty good refutation. Earlier Sunday, Powell met with Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqâs new foreign minister, and said the security situation remained challenging, with a ``major new threatââ coming from ``terrorists who are trying to infiltrate into the country for the purpose of disrupting this whole process.ââ The flypaper strategy is working but that doesnât mean we arenât going to have bad days. Posted by: Steve White 2003-09-15 |
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