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U.S. raids Baghdad slum; 26 Iraqis die
The enemy narrative is clear, the template is filled in the same way in story after story, event after event.By HAMID AHMED, Associated Press Writer Only Muslims now write for the AP? BAGHDAD - American soldiers rolled into Baghdad's Shiite Sadr City slum on Saturday in search of Iranian-linked militants and as many as 26 Iraqis were killed in what a U.S. officer described as "an intense firefight." But residents, police and hospital officials said eight civilians were killed in their homes and angrily accused U.S. forces of firing blindly on the innocent. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki condemned the raids and demanded an explanation for the assault into a district where he has barred U.S. operations in the past. The U.S. military said it conducted two pre-dawn raids in Sadr City, killing 26 "terrorists" who attacked U.S. troops with small arms fire, rocket-propelled grenades and roadside bombs. But Iraqi officials said all the dead were civilians. An American military spokesman insisted all of those killed were combatants. "Everyone who got shot was shooting at U.S. troops at the time," said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver. "It was an intense firefight." Witnesses said U.S. forces rolled into their neighborhood before dawn and opened fire without warning. "At about 4 a.m., a big American convoy with tanks came and began to open fire on houses bombing them," said Basheer Ahmed, who lives in Sadr City's Habibiya district. "What did we do? We didn't even retaliate there was no resistance." According to Iraqi officials, the dead included three members of one family a father, mother and son. Several women and children, along with two policemen, were among the wounded, they said. The assault brought quick criticism from al-Maliki. "The Iraqi government totally rejects U.S. military operations ... conducted without a pre-approval from the Iraqi military command," al-Maliki said in a statement released by his office. "Anyone who breaches the military command orders will face investigation." A policeman wounded in the raid, Montadhar Kareem, said he was on night duty when U.S. troops moved in and "began bombing houses in the area." "The bombing became more intense, and I was injured by shrapnel in both my legs and in my left shoulder," Kareem said from a gurney at Al Sadr General Hospital. Hours afterward, a funeral procession snaked through Sadr City. Three coffins were hoisted atop cars. One resident who goes by the nickname of Um Ahmed, or "mother of Ahmed," stood outside her home as mourners passed by. "We are being hit while we are peacefully sleeping in our houses. Is that fair?" she cried. The woman gave only her nickname, fearing reprisal. The U.S. military statement said American troops opened fire on four civilian cars during the assault one that failed to stop at a checkpoint, and three that insurgents were using for cover as they shot at U.S. soldiers. "Every structure and vehicle that the troops on the ground engaged were being used for hostile intent," Garver said. Some of the 26 dead were in civilian cars, some had been hiding behind cars and others had fired on U.S. troops from nearby buildings, he said. Posted by: Glenmore 2007-06-30 |
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