U.S. troops shot and killed at least seven Iraqi civilians — some of them children — in a vehicle at checkpoint Monday in southern Iraq when the driver did not stop as ordered, U.S. Central Command said. The soldiers involved were from the 3rd Infantry Division, the same unit that lost four soldiers Saturday at another checkpoint when an Iraqi soldier dressed as a civilian detonated a car bomb. On Monday, the vehicle approached the U.S. Army checkpoint at about 4:30 p.m. Soldiers motioned for the driver to stop but were ignored, the Central Command said. They fired warning shots, which also were ignored, the U.S. military said. Troops then shot into the vehicle's engine, but the driver continued toward the checkpoint. As a last resort, the military statement said, soldiers fired into the passenger compartment.
That sounds like exactly what they're supposed to do...
The statement said a total of 13 women and children were in the van. But The Washington Post, whose reporter is embedded with the 3rd Infantry, said 15 passengers were in the van and 10 were killed, five of them children who appeared to be younger than age 5. One of the wounded was a man not expected to live, the Post reported on its Web site. The newspaper described the vehicle as a four-wheel-drive Toyota crammed with the Iraqis' personal belongings.
Could have been dynamite...
Central Command said initial reports indicated the soldiers followed the rules of engagement to protect themselves. "In light of recent terrorist attacks by the Iraqi regime, the soldiers exercised considerable restraint to avoid the unnecessary loss of life," the statement said.
I agree, even though they'll all probably spend the rest of their lives agonizing over the incident. |