Kindgo
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04-29-03 Marines Fire At Iraqi Protestors- Up To 13 Killed
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,85443,00.html
U.S. Troops Fire Back at Iraqi Protesters; Up to 13 Killed
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
FALLUJAH, Iraq — U.S. troops on Monday night fired on Iraqi demonstrators, some of who were shooting AK-47s (search), as they approached a schoolhouse where American forces were housed, U.S. officers said Tuesday.
The director of the local hospital said 13 people were killed and 75 injured. U.S. troops said their reports indicated five to seven people were injured.
The shooting took place about 10:30 p.m. Monday in the town of Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad. The predominantly Sunni Muslim (search) area is a stronghold of support for Saddam Hussein's Baath Party (search).
Col. Arnold Bray of the 82nd Airborne Division, who gave one U.S. account of the clash, said at least seven Iraqis were hit by gunfire. He could not confirm the reported deaths.
U.S. Central Command in Qatar had no immediate comment on the incident.
Dr. Ahmed Ghanim al-Ali, director of Fallujah General Hospital, said there were 13 dead, including three boys no older than 10. He said his medical crews were shot at when they went to retrieve the injured, which he said numbered 75 people.
The demonstrators were protesting U.S. troops' presence in Fallujah. U.S. forces say at least 100, and possibly as many as 200, people were involved in the protest.
But some townspeople said the protest was held by students aged 5 to 20 to ask the soldiers to leave the school so classes could resume as scheduled Tuesday.
Lt. Col. Eric Nantz, a commanding officer for the 82nd Airborne, told Fox News Tuesday that the incident was preceded by people firing automatic weapons after nightfall — an unusual occurrence since the U.S. military took over.
As the crowd grew and the gunfire continued, U.S. forces fired warning shots into the air, indicating they would act if they felt threatened, Nantz said.
"Once the crowd arrived here, there was a large crowd ... the firing continued along this street and at some point was directed at the soldiers located at the top of this building," Nantz said, pointing to the schoolhouse that served as the troops' home base.
The gunfire from the crowd kept going, Bray said, adding that some in the crowd fired at the schoolhouse.
"Once this fire was in the vicinity of these soldiers, they returned fire ... on those who had AK-47s and who fired in their vicinity," Nantz said.
The U.S. military's rules of engagement say that if a soldier is fired upon or feels threatened by enemy actions, he or she is free to shoot.
Nantz was asked by Fox News' Jonathan Hunt, in Fallujah, whether the force was necessary.
"Yes, the response to this force was based on the soldiers' feeling they're directly threatened, both to themselves and other U.S. forces," Nantz said. "The response was directed at those who had AK-47s and who were firing in our vicinity."
Nantz stressed that coalition forces were in full support of Iraqi free speech, so long as there were no guns involved.
Arabic television station al-Jazeera (search), quoting local residents, said the U.S. troops opened fire after someone threw a rock at the school.
Bray said there were infiltrators in the crowd, including some who were armed and on nearby rooftops.
"Which kind of schoolboys carry AK-47s?" Bray said.
Residents said the shooting continued for at least 30 minutes.
Edtesam Shamsudeim, 37, said her 45-year-old brother died in the gunfire. She was shot in the leg and her husband was wounded.
"We were sitting in our house. When the shooting started, my husband tried to close the door to keep the children in, and he was shot," she said at the hospital, sitting in a chair with a bandaged leg, surrounded by some of her children.
Outside the school Tuesday afternoon, people chanted for U.S. forces to leave Iraq. "Go, go USA!" they said in Arabic, adding some English at the end: "Go away!"
Thousands of distraught people were attending funerals for the victims Tuesday, al-Jazeera reported.
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God bless,
Kindgo
Inside the will of God there is no failure. Outside the will of God there is no success.
Posts: 4320 | From: Sunny Florida | Registered: Jun 2002
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