Posted on 05/27/2005 6:12:52 AM PDT by Bob Hyneman
US forces kill human 'shield' child in Iraq
US forces have shot dead a child which they say was being used as a human "shield" during an exchange of gunfire near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
More than 20 people have also reportedly been killed in gun battles, drive-by shootings and suicide bombings elsewhere in the country.
A statement said US forces came under attack as they were carrying out operations in Tal Afar, a volatile town west of Mosul that has seen frequent violence in recent months.
"An Iraqi child was killed as terrorists and multi-national forces exchanged fire in northern Iraq," the statement said.
"Terrorists used Iraqi children as shields when multi-national forces returned fire. During the engagement, the child was killed."
It gave no details about the age or gender of the child, or whether he or she was taken to hospital following the incident.
Iraqi civilians often complain that US forces open fire indiscriminately when attacked, leading to innocent people being caught up in the crossfire.
The US military says it takes all precautions possible to ensure innocents are not killed.
Al Qaeda has reportedly denied it uses human shields.
"They accuse our mujahedeen (holy warriors) of using human shields. But you are deceiving yourselves, worshippers of the cross... Wasn't it the Americans who used women and children as shields in Fallujah?" said a recent statement, whose authenticity could not be verified, according to AFP.
During the war that overthrew Saddam Hussein, US forces said Iraqi fighters frequently used women and children as human shields, but it was never possible to independently verify the reports.
Human rights groups have criticised the US military for not being restrained enough in its use of force, particularly at checkpoints when vehicles sometimes approach at speed and US soldiers, fearing a car bomb attack, open fire.
Meanwhile, hundreds of US soldiers have swept through the western Iraqi town of Haditha, searching homes and seizing suspected insurgents.
At least 10 people are reported to have been killed in fierce gun battles.
The area, 200 kilometres north-west of Baghdad, has been the scene of frequent attacks on US-led troops.
The US marines, who arrived by helicopter, say six insurgents were killed in a battle in central Haditha, including one man identified as a cleric.
Two US soldiers were injured in the fighting.
One resident was witnessed being blindfolded and having a code number written on his forehead, as his mother and sisters pleaded with troops to release him.
At least 10 people were killed in violence in Baghdad on Thursday, including three men travelling in a minibus reportedly shot dead by US forces, officials said.
"American forces opened fire on a minibus in the Dura district, in southern Baghdad, killing three people and wounding four others," said a defence ministry source.
"There was an incident. There was a bus that was shot at in south-east Baghdad but I can't say what time. The details are sketchy and we don't know who was involved," said US military spokesman Lieutenant Jamie Davis.
Bus driver Abbas Abbas said that US troops opened fire after he pulled over to get out of their way.
"I was driving in front of a US convoy in Dura. They were driving fast so I pulled over, and when I did, they opened fire, killing three male passengers and wounding two," Mr Abbas told AFP from Yarmuk hospital where he was being treated for wounds.
Seven other Iraqis were killed in the capital earlier in the day in a drive-by shooting and a suicide car bombing, an interior ministry source said.
Four policemen and two civilians were wounded in the attack.
Meanwhile, the US military said one of its soldiers died in a road accident near Tuz, 160 kilometres north of Baghdad, on Tuesday.
-Reuters/AFP
Religion of peace alert.
Any cretin that would hide behind a child like this is cowardly scum and deserves to suffer for eternity in a thousand hells...
cowards
"We don't use children as human shields, we just kill them indiscriminately with our car bombs".
Cowardly dirtbags, no punishment on erath is enough
http://exposingtheleft.blogspot.com/2005/05/attention-bill-maher.html
Terrorist press release alert.
And AMNESTY International declares a press war against us...now, more than ever, their agenda is transperent.
It's almost as if the press accepts the terrorist kill children and civilians...so why report it...let's just beat up on the U.S. because we no we'll get some kind of response from the "good" guys.
Isn't hiding behind a child considered a "war crime" under the Geneva Convention?
Any creature using a child as a shield...has lost all hope. They are without any love or charity...they value nothing in life...any claim of a religious cause is merely talk of a fool. For anyone in the middle-east to support such a lost fool...brings shame to themselves.
Those are touching photos. It exemplifies the courage of the Judeo-Christian soldier vs. the cowardice of the Islamic terrorists.
It not a religious war... yeah right !
Amongst a myriad of other things the terrorists are doing...but they're not true soldiers, which is why the ARMY has to constantly remind Amnesty International and MSM...why holding them (terrorists) as enemy combatants in cuba indefinitely is absolutely legitimate.
As we all know the "bad" guys do not adhere to any moral code or convention, but we will always...what makes us different.
Let's not forget the "minutemen" using a handicapped kid with Down's Syndrome to carry out one of the suicide bombings on election day. Briefly mentioned here:
http://www.nbc5.com/news/4146163/detail.html??z=dp&dpswid=1167317&dppid=65192
Al Qaeda is an organization of loser eunuchs.
ping
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