6 January 2004Common DreamsRobin Pomeroy
The police chief investigating the deaths of an Iraqi family gunned down in their car in northern Iraq said on Monday he was convinced U.S. troops were responsible, although the army has denied involvement.
Tensions have been rising in Tikrit, the hometown of Saddam Hussein, since the bodies of the family were found on a nearby highway on Saturday. Coalition forces said the bodies were of a man, a woman and a child.
 A US soldier mans a machine gun as his vehicle leaves a coalition base for a mission in Tikrit. Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urged Arabs to rise up against America and force it to retreat from Iraq. (AFP/Jewel Samad) |
A fifth man who survived and was taken to Tikrit hospital has told local soldiers the car was fired on by a U.S. Army convoy. Mazhar said he had interviewed other witnesses and was "100 percent" sure this was true.
"The civilian car tried to by-pass the convoy. Because they tried to by-pass, they (the army) opened fire," Mazhar said, through an interpreter. The machine gunner on the rear vehicle of the convoy must have suspected the car posed a threat, he said.
The Army's 4th Infantry Division (4ID) which patrols the area has denied any of its forces were involved in the attack. But a spokeswoman for the 4ID said other troops could have been involved.
"Is there a possibility that this could have happened? Yes," Major Josslyn Aberle told reporters. "It could have been someone else passing through our area. It could have been Iraqi on Iraqi."
Under normal military rules, if U.S. soldiers open fire they are supposed to stop and investigate on the spot and report the incident immediately. No such report has yet been made, Aberle said.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Baghdad, said on Sunday there had been no reports of any coalition forces firing on anyone or any vehicle in the area.
The incident has increased tensions in Tikrit, according to a U.S. commander in the town.
"It was definitely more tense yesterday," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Russell said.
One of his soldiers was shot in the leg on Sunday as he patrolled the town, which may be a sign of increased hostility in a town where anti-U.S. activity has dropped off in the last few weeks, he said.
Russell said he had spoken to the local tribal elders and police heads to express sadness over the incident and tell them his troops patrolling in the area were flagged down after the shooting and provided assistance.
"We went out and talked to several people on the streets," Russell said. "I stood before several of the popular restaurants and said we came to provide assistance and that it was a sad thing that happened.
"Whether or not they accepted that, I don't know."
