Accounts Differ on U.S. Attack That Killed 25 Iraqis
October 6, 2007
By ALISSA J. RUBIN
nytimes.com
BAGHDAD, Oct. 5 — American troops backed by aircraft support attacked a Shiite town north of Baghdad at dawn today killing at least 25 Iraqis the military described as criminals who were involved in the transport of weapons. But Iraqis at the scene said the dead were innocent, though armed, civilians.
The military said it was searching for an insurgent leader believed to be associated with the elite Iranian Quds Force, which American intelligence sources believe is working in Iraq to foment violent activity by some Shiite militias.
Iraqis at the scene gave a sharply divergent account, saying the Iraqis killed had been trying to defend their town from Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown Sunni militant group that American intelligence believes has foreign leadership. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has been active in the Diyala Province, but so have militias associated with the anti-American Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr.
“The residents were defending themselves and the town,” said Uday al-Khadran, the mayor of Khalis, the district in which the fighting occurred.
“They were not militias for killing people and they were recognized by the security forces in the district and this issue is familiar in all the towns of Khalis because of Al Qaeda threats, especially to the Shiite,” he said.
However, a statement released by the American military described a serious onslaught from the Iraqis in the town. As American forces approached the village, the statement said, they came under heavy fire and called in airstrikes. The bombing destroyed two buildings and the military estimated 25 people were killed.
“Responding in self-defense, the ground force returned fire,” said the statement. Then, it said: “Enemy fire intensified and supporting aircraft were called in an attempt to suppress the threat. The armed group continued to engage, and began to aggressively maneuver toward Coalition forces, firing assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades.
“The ground force also observed one armed individual carrying what appeared to be an anti-aircraft weapon into a nearby building. Perceiving hostile intent, supporting aircraft engaged.”
The town, Gizani al-Imam, has a Shiite population and is well known as a stronghold of Shiite militias. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia extremists have attacked the area repeatedly and in self defense the residents formed a guard force and kept a night watch for possible militant incursions. Interviews with several residents who were wounded suggest that the situation may have been extremely complex, with some townspeople merely helping more hardcore militia members.
Nasrallah Fadhil, a resident who was slightly wounded in his leg described the American attack as looking as if “fireballs were falling from the sky.”
“I heard three big blasts,” he said. “I didn’t know what happened afterward since I lost conscious. After I recovered I saw scattered bodies here and there, bodies of innocent people. We were not militias or Qaeda but innocent people who defend our honor and the Americans are criminals.” Diyala, a large province just north of Baghdad, is narrowly divided between Sunni Arabs and Shiites, and the two groups are fighting for dominance. Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia appears to be methodically cleansing Shiites in some areas of the province. However, Shiite militias are also active and while some of those linked to Mr. Sadr have laid down weapons for the time being on his orders, other splinter organizations have persisted in attacks on American troops and on Iraqis who are perceived as working with them.
The American military said it believed that those who are continuing to fight were linked to Iran. “We continue to support the government of Iraq in welcoming the commitment by Muqtada al-Sadr to stop attacks and we will continue to show restraint in dealing with those who honor his pledge,” said Maj. Anton Alston, a military spokesman.
“We will not show the same restraint against those criminals who dishonor this pledge by attacking security forces and Iraqi citizens.”
An employee of The New York Times contributed reporting from Diyala Province.
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