Deadly Clash in Baghdad Exposes "Interpretaions" of US-Iraq "Deal"
ABU GHRAIB, Iraq - Shouts of "tha'ar, tha'ar" ('revenge' in Arabic) were heard by the angry parents, were heard in this city near Baghdad, after U.S. troops raided homes, shot elders - killed chidren to "protect U.S. military" in Baghdad neighborhood, according to sources here.
It is believed the American military were in persuit of insurgents, when several adults and one teen were killed, others wounded.
Dead included several children ranging from ages 9 to 12.
They shot randomly," said Hussein Neda, 47, the father of one of those killed, "They were running with weapons, and ...
they killed my son before we got to him.
Neda's 9-year-old son, Sufian, said he was wounded when a bullet grazed his left shoulder.
"I hate the Americans," the boy said quietly. "I never liked them, even before this happened."
Sami al-Fahad, a doctor, was on duty at Abu Ghraib Hospital on Tuesday when the victims of the crossfire arrived.
"This is an old habit of the U.S. Army," he said nonchalantly, sitting behind a desk as he checked a man's blood pressure. "They kill the people in the street, even if they are civilians or children."
As the wounded were being treated, the father of one of the victims, awaiting news of his son, began chanting "tha'ar, tha'ar," which means revenge in Arabic.
Reports say an American convoy was attacked by some local "insurgents". They said U.S. troops chased the suspects, firing in all directions, killing innocent children, adults and wounding many more.
When the shooting subsided, another confrontation began. A senior Iraqi army commander who arrived at the scene concluded that the Americans had fired indiscriminately at civilians and ordered his men to take the U.S. soldiers into custody. The U.S. military said the soldiers had acted in self-defense and had sought to avoid civilian casualties; U.S. commanders at the scene persuaded the Iraqis to back down.
The incident, apparently the first time a senior Iraqi commander has sought to detain U.S. soldiers, signals a potential escalation of tensions between U.S. and Iraqi forces trying to find a new equilibrium as Iraq assumes more responsibility for its security.
Friction
Both sides have starkly different interpretations of vaguely worded restrictions on the authority and movement of U.S. forces that went into effect more than three weeks ago. Those differences, and the friction they are causing in U.S.-Iraqi military relations, have been sharply underscored by the Abu Ghraib attack, which appears to be the first time U.S. soldiers have used deadly force since the new restrictions were imposed.
Word of the incident quickly spread among U.S. soldiers in Baghdad. Several said it heightened concerns that the split-second decisions they make now have the potential to draw a sharp rebuke from Iraq's increasingly assertive security forces. And reaction from Iraqi military officials seemed to confirm those fears.
"What happened is a crime," the Iraqi commander said Friday during a brief interview in his office. "Civilians were killed."
The commander and a senior Iraqi police official, who also characterized the American response as a "crime," spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing ministry regulations that bar them from speaking to the news media without written approval.
Maj. David Shoupe, a U.S. military spokesman, said the two slain men were assailants.
"The response of the (U.S.) patrol was within the rules of engagement, appropriate and proportionate to the attack on them," Shoupe said in an email. "It is important to note that the patrol used aimed fire to kill their two attackers — stopping the attack that could have resulted in many more (U.S. Soldiers) and Iraqi deaths."
Children Aged 9 to 12
Hospital and police officials said the two wounded children were aged only 9 and 12 years.
Conflicting accounts of attacks involving U.S. forces in Iraq are common, and versions are often skewed by how the troops are viewed in the area.
'They were shooting randomly'
Interviews with residents, hospital officials and Iraqi army police commanders in the suburb of Abu Ghraib suggest that conventional wisdom holds the Americans killed civilians.
Many in this former insurgent hotbed are seething.
