Chicago Tribune | U.S.: Iraq Insurgency Highly Coordinated:

"Why did they attack randomly? Why did they shoot a kindergarten with tank shells?"

"An ambush and shootout that killed dozens of Iraqis represented a new level of coordination in the anti-coalition insurgency, U.S. officials said Monday.

The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed Sunday in the northern city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. "

Residents said the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead were mostly civilians. But by the American account, the battle was the bloodiest combat reported since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in a U.S.-led invasion.

The U.S. military said attackers in Samarra, many wearing uniforms of Saddam's Fedayeen paramilitary force, struck at two U.S. convoys at opposite sides of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad.

Capt. Andy Deponai, whose tank was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, said the guerrillas had deployed about 30-40 men near each of the two banks where the new currency was being delivered.

"It was a large group of people," said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt. "Are we looking at this one closely? Yes. Is this something larger than we've seen over the past couple of months? Yes. Are we concerned about it? We'll look at it and take appropriate measures in future operations."

Deponai said he was surprised by the scale of the attack.

"Up to now you've seen a progression -- initially it was hit and run, single RPG shots on patrols, then they started doing volley fire, multiple RPG ambushes, and then from there this is the first well-coordinated one," he said.

"Here, it seems they had the training to stand and fight," Deponai said.

At the U.S. base, half a dozen suspects were seen with bags over their heads and their hands bound by plastic cuffs.

Many residents said Saddam loyalists attacked the Americans, but that when U.S. forces began firing at random, many civilians got their guns and joined the fight. Many said residents were bitter about recent U.S. raids in the night.

"Why do they arrest people when they're in their homes?" asked Athir Abdul Salam, a 19-year-old student. "They come at night to arrest people. So what do they expect those people to do?"

"Civilians shot back at the Americans," said 30-year-old Ali Hassan, who was wounded by shrapnel in the battle. "They claim we are terrorists. So OK, we are terrorists. What do they expect when they drive among us?"

Many residents said the Americans opened fire at random when they came under attack, targeting civilian installations. Six destroyed vehicles sat in front of the hospital, where witnesses said U.S. tanks shelled people dropping off the injured. A kindergarten was damaged, apparently by tank shells. No children were hurt.

"Luckily, we evacuated the children five minutes before we came under attack," said Ibrahim Jassim, a guard at the kindergarten. "Why did they attack randomly? Why did they shoot a kindergarten with tank shells?"

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-iraq,1,7982944.story