- TIKRIT, Iraq (Reuters) -
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.
-
- General Mazhar Taha al-Ganaim, police chief of Salahaddin
province, said four people were killed -- two men, a woman and a nine-year-old
boy.
-
- 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."
-
- Copyright © 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited
without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable
for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance
thereon.
|
