US troops fire on Canadian envoy's car in Iraq.......
Wed Feb 1, 7:37 AM ET
U.S. troops in Iraq fired warning shots at the Canadian envoy's car on Tuesday after it failed to slow down while approaching an American military convoy, the U.S. military said on Wednesday.
But a Canadian diplomatic spokeswoman had a different account. She said there was "to say the least reasonable" space between the vehicles and there were no warning shots or signals before three bullets hit the car.
There were no injuries.
A U.S. military statement said the shots were fired inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the Iraqi government and diplomats and is the headquarters of the U.S. military.
Any vehicles or individuals wishing to enter the zone, which is surrounded by blast walls, must either have a pass or undergo extensive security searches.
"The Canadian ambassador's vehicle did sustain damage yesterday from U.S. military gunfire," said the statement.
"The rear guard on a U.S. convoy signaled the vehicle to stay back. After it failed to do so and continued moving toward the convoy from behind, warning shots were aimed at the front of the vehicle, away from the passenger area."
"The incident is under review to determine why it was necessary to fire warning shots," said the statement.
The Canadian spokeswoman said the envoy's car, which was occupied by four Canadian diplomats, was nowhere near the U.S. military vehicles and that one of the bullets hit the windshield.
"We let them pass to go to an intersection and then they parked their vehicles. They were not moving," she said.
"They were on the other side of the road parked behind a waist-high cement barrier and we were passing on the other side. There were several lanes on our side of the road and theirs between us when they opened fire."
She said U.S. and Canadian authorities were investigating the incident. A U.S. State Department official said the two sides were in close contact. "It's an unfortunate incident," the official said in Washington, on condition of anonymity.
Iraqis often complain that U.S. troops are too quick to fire. American soldiers, who have come under attack by suicide bombers in cars, say they give motorists ample time to slow down before firing shots.
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