Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Different Accounts - U.S. Military Denies Wedding Party Attacked
ABCnews.com ^ | 05-19-04 | Staff

Posted on 05/19/2004 2:04:31 PM PDT by veronica

U.S. Military Denies Wedding Party Attacked

May 19, 2004— Arab television networks reported today that a U.S. helicopter had fired on a wedding party in western Iraq, but the U.S. military denied it.

Qatar-based Al-Jazeera quoted eyewitnesses as saying that 40 people, including women and children, were killed in a predawn attack on a village near the Syrian border. The Associated Press said Iraqi officials in the nearby city of Ramadi gave the same death toll.

Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the chief military spokesman in Iraq, denied that U.S. forces fired on a wedding party but said the military would investigate.

Kimmitt said coalition forces did conduct an operation about 15 miles from the Syrian border at 3 a.m., and that ground troops found 40 bodies after the attack. He declined to say whether there were any children among the dead.

Kimmitt said coalition ground troops were investigating a suspected "rat line" — a route used by anti-U.S. insurgents and criminals such as smugglers — when they came under fire.

The troops called in air support, Kimmitt said, and coalition planes attacked the site. He said the ground troops afterward recovered "numerous weapons, 2 million Iraqi and Syrian dinar, foreign passports, and a SATCOM radio."

He said the incident occurred in the desert 50 miles southwest of Husaybah.

Al-Arabiya showed pictures of several covered bodies lined up along a dirt road, along with men digging graves and lowering bodies into them — including the body of a child — while families wept.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: iraq; weddingattack
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

1 posted on 05/19/2004 2:04:32 PM PDT by veronica
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: veronica
Fox also reporting:
Arab television and The Associated Press aired video showing the bodies of small children in a truck full of bodies and people digging graves as they quoted witnesses and Iraqi officials who discussed the attack. But senior military officials in Washington said U.S. and coalition forces conducted a strike on "anti-coalition vehicles" along the Iraqi-Syrian border. According to the military, at 3 a.m. local time Wednesday coalition forces conducted an operation against a suspected foreign fighter safe house in the open desert. The house was 25 kilometers from the Syrian border, 85 kilometers southwest of Husaybah, military officials said. Coalition forces came under hostile fire and called for support from the air. After the strike, coalition forces recovered numerous weapons, foreign passports, a SATCOM radio and two million Iraqi and Syrian dinars, military officials said.

2 posted on 05/19/2004 2:06:49 PM PDT by Blood of Tyrants (Even if the government took all your earnings, you wouldn't be, in its eyes, a slave.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: veronica
Arab television networks reported . . .

That means that ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, etc. will pick it up word-for-word shortly and toe the jihad-democrat party line!

3 posted on 05/19/2004 2:07:15 PM PDT by RetiredArmy (We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American Way! Toby Keith)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Blood of Tyrants

It would be the first time Arab TV & US sockpuppets believe staged events. Video from where and when, is what I would ask.


4 posted on 05/19/2004 2:08:57 PM PDT by veronica (Sen. Robert Bryd has seen more hoods than Iraqi prisoners ever wore....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

Arrrggg, it would not be..the first time Arab TV & US sockpuppets believe staged events. Video from where and when, is what I would ask..


5 posted on 05/19/2004 2:09:51 PM PDT by veronica (Sen. Robert Bryd has seen more hoods than Iraqi prisoners ever wore....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: veronica

HeaDlines for El-Arabia tomorrow:

9 AC-130 gunships surround and destroy orphanage in Iraq. One of the pilots, a Jew, was quoted as saying, "killing children is difficult because you can't lead them with your sites as much"........ DEVELOPING.


6 posted on 05/19/2004 2:10:23 PM PDT by mlbford2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: veronica

Posted by gandalftb to Michael Barnes
On News/Activism 05/19/2004 12:51:26 PM PDT #246 of 275


The attack was a Marine op. taking down a "safe compound" of houses full of Syrian rebels on the Syrian border not at Ramadi. There was stiff resistance so our guys pulled back and called in Puff. That's what was reported as hundreds of bombs. The family living there got caught in the crossfire. The wedding aspect is pure b.s.


7 posted on 05/19/2004 2:10:52 PM PDT by gandalftb
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: mlbford2
"killing children is difficult because you can't lead them with your sites as much"

Plus their strike zone is much smaller.

8 posted on 05/19/2004 2:13:20 PM PDT by Klaus D. Deore
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: veronica
Arab television networks reported today that a U.S. helicopter had fired on a wedding party in western Iraq

40 people, including women and children, were killed in a predawn attack

A pre-dawn wedding party? Right!!!!!!

9 posted on 05/19/2004 2:19:18 PM PDT by Grim
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: veronica

Hmm, lemme see, who do we believe, The Anti-American Alphabet nets, arab tv or the US military. Such a hard choice, NOT!


10 posted on 05/19/2004 2:21:01 PM PDT by JustAnAmerican
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: veronica
2 million Iraqi and Syrian dinar

That’s got to be more than forty bucks, American!

11 posted on 05/19/2004 2:29:08 PM PDT by dead (I've got my eye out for Mullah Omar.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Blood of Tyrants
According to the military, at 3 a.m. local time Wednesday coalition forces conducted an operation against a suspected foreign fighter safe house in the open desert.

Am I the only person on earth that remembers that this SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED IN AFGANISTAN A FEW MONTHS AGO?

There were all these cries of victimizing immediately after dozens were murdered "at a wedding", and the media picked up on it and reported it as fact.

Then a week later it came out that not only was the US not guilty of murder, but it was a lie that it was a wedding, because the attack happened at 3 in the morning on a convoy.

As soon as this happened, I saw this on Fox's website-and instantly thought of this similar story, and lo and behold, it sounds like the terrorists dared to lie...again.

Stupid media.

12 posted on 05/19/2004 2:30:01 PM PDT by PeoplesRep_of_LA (I am no longer afraid to publicly say I love Jesus, thanks Mel)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: PeoplesRep_of_LA
>>>Am I the only person on earth that remembers that this SAME EXACT THING HAPPENED IN AFGANISTAN A FEW MONTHS AGO?<<<

I have read that it is considered a virtue , in Arabic culture, for an Arab man to be able to lie effectively. Evidently they spend a great deal of time fabricating intricate lies - usually to extract money from a fellow Arab.

Evidently we are dealing here with a few of the less creative types! Either that or they think we in the West have awfully short memories!

13 posted on 05/19/2004 2:45:03 PM PDT by HardStarboard ( Wesley...gone. Hillary......not gone enough!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: PeoplesRep_of_LA
Additional thought - wait a week, the next fabrication will be that U.S. warplanes bombed a Baby Milk Factory
14 posted on 05/19/2004 2:47:47 PM PDT by HardStarboard ( Wesley...gone. Hillary......not gone enough!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: PeoplesRep_of_LA
it sounds like the terrorists dared to lie...again.

You silly, terrorist don't lie! Only the administration and the military lie. Don't you realize we've been looking for a wedding celebration to blow up real good? It's been hours since our last atrocity! </sarcasm

15 posted on 05/19/2004 2:50:46 PM PDT by tsmith130
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: PeoplesRep_of_LA; Blood of Tyrants

I remembered. I posted the following as soon as the story broke while some others were wondering how we could do such a thing:

Taking into account the mandatory briefings on local customs our people get, the sophisticated level of sensory equipment in our helicopters and the time of day this occurred:

1.These were armed insurgents
2.They purposely fired on us
3.They learned the power of Vulcan


16 posted on 05/19/2004 2:53:57 PM PDT by NewRomeTacitus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: dead

Thats what I was wondering? What is 2 million Dinar in dollars?

I have pretty much learned my lesson when it comes to stories about Iraq. Never ever trust the first story. Never ever trust any "breaking news" from Iraq. It is almost always just a total fabrication or wrong in some fundamental respect.

That is why I was saying on another thread about this topic- "If this is true . . ."

My rule is- wait a few days for the "Real story" to come out.


17 posted on 05/19/2004 3:28:53 PM PDT by Burkeman1 ("I said the government can't help you. I didn't say it couldn't hurt you." Chief Wiggam)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 11 | View Replies]

To: veronica
Qatar-based Al-Jazeera quoted eyewitnesses as saying that 40 people, including women and children, were killed in a predawn attack

A predawn attack...and it was a wedding party?? Okay, one of two possibilities exist: either those Iraqis are wild party animals or the press is just towing the Jihad Party Line.

18 posted on 05/19/2004 4:49:11 PM PDT by Prime Choice (I'd question John Kerry's patriotism if I thought for a moment he had any...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Burkeman1

About 2500 bucks (USD).


19 posted on 05/19/2004 5:07:36 PM PDT by jwalsh07
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: jwalsh07

Really? I hope they have large denominations!


20 posted on 05/19/2004 5:18:10 PM PDT by Burkeman1 ("I said the government can't help you. I didn't say it couldn't hurt you." Chief Wiggam)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson