Bradley Brooks / Associated Press & Agence France-Presse – 2008-03-12 23:09:41
http://www.kansascity.com/451/story/528750.html
Iraq: US Military Says It Killed Child
Bradley Brooks / Associated Press
BAGHDAD (March 13, 2008) — US soldiers fired a warning shot near a woman who “appeared to be signaling to someone” along a dangerous stretch of road north of Baghdad, but the bullet killed a young Iraqi girl, a military official said early Thursday.
The shooting took place Wednesday where several roadside bombs had recently been found in the volatile Diyala province. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be “around 10 years old,” said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
There has been an increase in the use of women as suicide bombers in Iraq. But Leighton said preliminary reports indicated that soldiers didn’t believe the woman posed a threat of being a bomber. Rather “they were afraid she was signaling to someone that the convoy was going by.”
In its statement, the military said that “coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound.”
Roadside bombs have been the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq.
Soldiers gave the girl medical attention and called for an evacuation. The girl died on the way to a medical facility, the statement said.
“Coalition forces take the loss of any innocent civilian life seriously and the incident will be thoroughly investigated,” military spokesman Maj. Dan Meyers said in the statement.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Death Toll from Iraq Shia City Clashes Rises to 17
Agence France-Presse
KUT, Iraq (March 12, 2008) — At least 17 people have been killed, including five children, in fierce clashes between militants and Iraqi and US forces in the Shia city of Kut, a local medic told AFP Wednesday.
‘Seventeen people have been killed, including five children and a female college student. Others are young men,’ Mamoon Ajil, registrar at Kut’s Al Zahra hospital said.
On Tuesday, Iraqi police said at least 10 people were killed in the clashes which broke out during a raid in three neighbourhoods of the city to arrest wanted Shia militiamen.
The districts-Al Ezza, Al Jihad and Anwar Sadr-are known strongholds of Mahdi Army militia members loyal to radical Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, the officer said.
Earlier Wednesday, the US military said its troops killed several militants who attacked Iraqi troops in Kut.
The military said Iraqi forces were patrolling the city on Tuesday when they were attacked by several ‘enemy fighters’.
The Iraqi forces requested assistance from the US forces who provided ground and air support.
US troops also came under attack from a large number of ‘enemy fighters,’ the military said.
‘The US special force returned fire, killing several enemy fighters and destroying two vehicles carrying machine guns,’ the statement said.
The US troops also noticed several suspects placing objects believed to be bombs at locations along the travel route for Iraqi and coalition forces.
It said the van carrying the explosives was destroyed by a US air strike.
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