Posted on 05/19/2004 10:16:18 AM PDT by Eurotwit
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A U.S. helicopter fired on a wedding party before dawn Wednesday in western Iraq (news - web sites), killing more than 40 people, Iraqi officials said. The U.S. military said it could not confirm the report and was investigating.
Lt. Col Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of Ramadi, said between 42 and 45 people were killed in the attack, which took place about 2:45 a.m. in a remote desert area near the border with Syria and Jordan. He said the dead included 15 children and 10 women.
Dr. Salah al-Ani, who works at a hospital in Ramadi, put the death toll at 45.
Associated Press Television News obtained videotape showing a truck containing bodies of people who were allegedly killed in the incident. Most of the bodies were wrapped in blankets and other cloths, but the footage showed at least eight uncovered, bloody bodies, several of them children. One of the children was headless.
Who the hell gets married at 2:45 AM in the morning in the middle of a war zone??? Its tragic yet weird...
Errr President Bush? What was that again about the need to exercise "restraint" and respecting "innocent lives??" HYPOCRITE!
They should fire their wedding planner.
This sounds preposterous.
Sounds like this was written by Baghdad Bob.
Were these human shields????
By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press.
I wonder if they were holding the wedding at a baby formula factory?
Yes it is tragic and weird. Is there some kind of Middle Eastern custom, like receptions going on until the wee hours or something that might account for it?
This is very bad.
What a bunch of BS.
It's Bush's fault again? That's interesting because I could have sworn I just saw him speaking from the WH just a few minutes ago.
I bet that them celebrating by firing off weapons won't be covered. It never occurs to the press that firing guns in the air might make them look like combatents.
I don't know if my claim is fact, but it seems common practice.
Gaza, and then this.......
More grist for the Islamic mill.
Terrible stuff. Are the stars and planets lined up real bad today?
Who the hell gets married at 2:45 AM in the morning in the middle of a war zone??? Its tragic yet weird...
there have been weddings where they shot guns into the air, hitting American helicopters, and got shot at in return...but I agree, not at 2 am...
Additionally, is this confirmed? Was it really a wedding, or something else entirely?
nice touch, AP.
the "wedding party" was probably shooting into the night sky.
Alright. Prepare to witness the great double standard of both the media and various governments. Let's see what Blair calls this, as after all, his forces are fighting in Iraq. Should America be asked to exercize restraint? What will its response be regarding this?
they were likely firing AK47s into the air as part of some "celebration". Next time, throw rice.
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