 U.S. warplanes and helicopters bombed two villages near the restive city of Ramadi, killing an estimated 70 militants, the military said Monday, though witnesses said at least 39 of the dead were civilians.
| "Women, children, sweet old granny ladies who used to make cookies, puppies, kittens, fluffy bunnies and baby ducks... Oh, the carnage! Oh, the humanity!" |
On referendum day, a roadside bomb killed five U.S. soldiers in a vehicle in the Al-Bu Ubaid village on the eastern outskirts of Ramadi. On Sunday, a group of about two dozen Iraqis gathered around the wreckage.
| "Hey, Mahmoud! Y'wanna go dance on the wreckage?" |
They were hit by U.S. airstrikes, the military and witnesses said.
The military said in a statement that the crowd was setting another roadside bomb
| "Huh huh! This is gonna be soooo neat!" |
when F-15 warplanes hit them, killing around 20 people,
described by the military as "terrorists."
| That was before they got dumped on. Now they're described as "dead guys." |
But several witnesses and one local leader said they were civilians who had gathered to gawk at and take pieces of the wreckage, as often occurs after an American vehicle is hit.
| It won't occur as often in the future, of course... |
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