Friday, September 19, 2003

Green GIs Eyed in Shooting of Iraqi Cops
American soldiers who mistakenly killed eight Iraqi policemen and a Jordanian guard this month had been in this turbulent city for only one day and were in the midst of a handover from one military unit to another, according to U.S. and Iraqi officials.

According to these officials, confusion and inexperience may have contributed to the Sept. 12 killings, the worst "friendly fire" incident since major hostilities were declared over May 1.

The 82nd Airborne has had a checkered history in Fallujah, one of the cities in the "Sunni Triangle" where hostility toward the United States is most intense.

In April, soldiers from the division fired on protesters on two successive days, killing 18 and injuring 78. U.S. troops had withdrawn to a base outside the city in July and had been turning over security duties to local police. The U.S. military at the time said the troops were fired at first in the April incident, but Iraqi witnesses denied this.

On Wednesday night in Fallujah, an American patrol opened fire at a wedding, killing a 14-year-old boy and wounding six other people after mistaking celebratory gunfire for an attack, witnesses said.

Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez said the military was investigating and could not confirm that a boy was killed.

After the April shooting, the military agreed to pay $2,500 to the families of the dead and $500 to those of the wounded. Bedawi, however, said only $1,500 of the $2,500 promised for each of the families of those killed had so far been paid. He suggested that $2,500 per family may not be enough for families of the eight policemen killed this month.

"The compensation must be appropriate. These families have nothing and $2,500 is not an acceptable sum," he said.

The U.S.-led coalition has apologized for the Sept. 12 incident and appointed a senior officer, Brig. Gen. Jeffrey J. Schloesser of the 101st Airborne Division, to investigate it. The 101st is based in the northern city of Mosul.

The 82nd Airborne troops involved in the latest friendly fire incident were not the same as those who took part in the April shooting, a Pentagon official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said that the men had only recently arrived in Iraq.…

The latest incident, which took place just outside Fallujah, happened during a three-day handover period between the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and the 82nd Airborne, a U.S. military spokesman told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The 82nd airborne was first deployed in the Gulf region in February and fought its way north from Kuwait along with other U.S. units. The 82nd units that served in Fallujah in April and May came from the division's 2nd Brigade. Those serving in Fallujah now are from the 2nd Brigade as well as the 3rd Brigade. The latter arrived in Iraq this month.…

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-iraq-fallujah-killings,1,3140466.story

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