Gold9472
10-17-2005, 11:09 AM
70 Iraqis die after US bombs two villages
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2102552005
10/17/2005
AMERICAN helicopters and warplanes have bombed two villages near the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, killing about 70 Iraqis.
The US military today said all of those killed were militants, but witnesses claimed at least 39 innocent civilians died in the attack.
Yesterday's violence came a day after the landmark Iraqi constitution was passed - despite opposition from many Sunnis.
The military statement said the crowd was setting a roadside bomb in the location of a blast which killed Americans two days ago. F-15 warplanes hit them with a precision-guided bomb, killing around 20 people, described by the statement as "terrorists."
But several witnesses and one local leader said the people were civilians who had gathered to stare at the wreckage of the US vehicle or pick pieces off it, as often occurs after an American vehicle is hit.
The airstrike hit the crowd, killing 25 people, said Chiad Saad, a tribal leader.
The military said a group of gunmen opened fire on a Cobra attack helicopter that had spotted their position. The Cobra returned fire, killing around ten, and remaining gunmen ran into a nearby house, where weapons were seen to be unloaded. A warplane then bombed the building, killing 40 insurgents.
President Bush congratulated the Iraqis on the referendum and the fact no voters were killed as they went to the polls, and said: "The vote in Iraq is in stark contrast to the attitude, the philosophy and strategy of al-Qaida, their terrorist friends and killers."
http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2102552005
10/17/2005
AMERICAN helicopters and warplanes have bombed two villages near the city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, killing about 70 Iraqis.
The US military today said all of those killed were militants, but witnesses claimed at least 39 innocent civilians died in the attack.
Yesterday's violence came a day after the landmark Iraqi constitution was passed - despite opposition from many Sunnis.
The military statement said the crowd was setting a roadside bomb in the location of a blast which killed Americans two days ago. F-15 warplanes hit them with a precision-guided bomb, killing around 20 people, described by the statement as "terrorists."
But several witnesses and one local leader said the people were civilians who had gathered to stare at the wreckage of the US vehicle or pick pieces off it, as often occurs after an American vehicle is hit.
The airstrike hit the crowd, killing 25 people, said Chiad Saad, a tribal leader.
The military said a group of gunmen opened fire on a Cobra attack helicopter that had spotted their position. The Cobra returned fire, killing around ten, and remaining gunmen ran into a nearby house, where weapons were seen to be unloaded. A warplane then bombed the building, killing 40 insurgents.
President Bush congratulated the Iraqis on the referendum and the fact no voters were killed as they went to the polls, and said: "The vote in Iraq is in stark contrast to the attitude, the philosophy and strategy of al-Qaida, their terrorist friends and killers."