Is it even Bush's concern if these species are in other counties and continents. Species come and go, anyway, just one of the laws of nature. Would you still like dinosaurs and pterodactyls to be around?
<font color=blue>Really? They come and they go? Have you ever wondered why, o wise one?!
How about the human species, specifically the American version? Do they come and they go? Do you understand why? Think about it.....the reason may come to you!<font color=black>
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Americans, Iraqis Die in Attacks
FALLUJAH, Iraq (Sept. 12) - U.S. soldiers mistakenly opened fire on a group of Iraqi policemen chasing bandits Friday, killing eight Iraqis and wounding seven others, witnesses said. It was the deadliest friendly fire incident since the end of major fighting.
Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a firefight during a raid earlier Friday in the town of Ramadi, 30 miles west of Fallujah, the military said.
The Fallujah region has been one of the most dangerous for U.S. soldiers, with support for Saddam Hussein running strong in the area.
In the Fallujah shooting, 25 policemen in two pickup trucks and a sedan were chasing a white BMW known to have been used by highway bandits, said Asem Mohammed, a 23-year-old police sergeant who was among the injured.
As the chase neared a checkpoint near the Jordanian Hospital on the west side of Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad, the police turned around and an American Humvee opened fire, Mohammed said. It was not immediately clear if any shots were fired at the Americans.
``We were chasing a white BMW with bandits. We turned around in front of Jordanian Hospital and some American forces started shooting at us,'' Mohammed said.
Dr. Dial Jumaili, who came to treat the wounded, said there were eight dead policemen. He said two of the injured were in serious condition. Five other people were injured in the shooting, including a guard at the Jordanian Hospital.
The U.S. military provided no information on the incident.
Policeman Arkan Adnan Ahmed, who was shot in the shoulder, said the battle lasted about 45 minutes.
He said the sudden appearance of one of the police vehicles, an unmarked pickup truck with a machine gun mounted on top, may have prompted the Americans to begin firing. ``We shouted, 'We are police! We are police!' Then we drove off the road into a field.''
Fallujah Gov. Taha Badawi ordered the bodies taken to Ramadi for autopsies before they were returned to the families.
In central Baghdad, meanwhile, a huge running gunbattle broke out for about 45 minutes Friday on a busy street along the Tigris River's east bank, where several of the city's largest hotels are located. No injuries were reported.
Police Capt. Ahmed Faris said Iraqi security forces chased a suspected gang of car hijackers, and U.S. soldiers guarding the Palestine and Sheraton hotels rushed toward the fighting.
Three members of the hijacking gang were arrested by police and one escaped, a security guard said.
There were other unconfirmed reports of violence in the Fallujah region Friday after a message carrying Saddam's name appeared on at least one building in Fallujah.
The message praised the people of the city for their resistance to the American occupation and named it capital of al-Anbar province. The nearby city of Ramadi is the capital of the Sunni dominated al-Anbar province.
On Thursday, attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades at a U.S. military convoy about 18 miles west of Fallujah, touching off an intense firefight that left at least one American soldier wounded, the military said.
Tanks and other vehicles from the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment came under attack, the military said.
Other U.S. forces responding to the scene ``came under fire and returned fire at houses nearby,'' U.S. Army Capt. Jeff Fitzgibbons said.
There was no information regarding casualties among attackers. Two U.S. military trucks were also destroyed during the fighting along Highway 10, he said.
Associated Press Television News pictures showed a burning tank transport truck, a burning 5-ton truck and at least one burning Humvee. Earlier Thursday, three U.S. soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division were injured when guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades and shot small arms at a military convoy in Mosul, northern Iraq, the military said.
In Baghdad, Abdel-Aziz al-Hakim, a key member of the U.S.-appointed Governing Council and a top Shiite Muslim cleric, said Friday that the car bombing that killed his brother and at least 85 other people in Najaf last month was a ``terrorist operation'' and would not be the last such attack.
Al-Hakim, who took over leadership of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq after his brother's assassination Aug. 29, said the attack was part of a ``diabolical and cunning conspiracy'' to target Iraqi infrastructure, assassinate other senior clerics and desecrate holy Muslim shrines.
At the news conference held at a Supreme Council building in central Baghdad, al-Hakim also issued a blunt warning to Arab satellite broadcasters like Al-Jazeera and Al-Arabiya against ``playing a role that tears the nation apart and supports terrorist groups.''
Al-Hakim refused to give a direct answer when asked about disarming the Badr Brigade, which his slain brother founded during exile in Iraq as the armed wing of the Supreme Council. It was ordered disarmed and disbanded on American orders after the fall of the Saddam regime, but members have subsequently been patrolling the streets in the area of the Imam Ali shrine in Najaf since the bombing there two weeks ago.
The top U.S. commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said on Thursday that such militias are illegal. Al-Hakim said the continued armed presence of the men was under discussion with American authorities.
``The Badr Brigade should have a very active role in achieving security, and we are discussing this issue with the coalition authorities. We do not want militia formations in Iraq, but under the current critical situation, urgent measures should be taken. But, we try to work in a way to avoid clashes with the coalition forces.''
``We do not foresee any benefit that could be gained from engaging in an armed conflict with the occupation forces. We believe in the necessity of adopting other means to achieve independence.''
09/12/03 09:59 EDT
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. |
