Posted on 01/06/2006 11:20:17 AM PST by John Jorsett
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A bomb that killed six civilians Monday near Baiji, Iraq, missed its target by 65 feet (20 meters) and hit the wrong home, military officials said.
The bomb, which was dropped by a U.S. fighter plane, was aimed at a building that three men entered after planting a roadside bomb as an unmanned surveillance plane watched from overhead, the officials said.
A U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighter jet strafed the building before the bomb was dropped, according to a U.S. military statement released after the nighttime attack.
The bomb had "successful effects against the insurgents," the statement added.
The strike flattened a family's home, killing six of the family members and wounding three others, said a spokesman for the Salaheddin provincial governor's office. A father and daughter survived with only minor injuries, he said.
The Baiji strike was one of 58 air missions the U.S. military carried out Monday over Iraq.
U.S. military officials said they are investigating why the wrong building was hit.
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Will be one of the top 3 stories leading off tonight's MSM news.
Roll the bomb camera footage of the passenger train in Kosovo.
Want to bet everyone in the neighborhood knew and knows who was setting up IED's?
Iraqis need to decide which type of society they want.
If they want basic security and a normal life then they need to make it "unacceptable" to be an insurgent and turn these guys in. Especially Iraqi women. Talk about no win. Only then will fewer innocents die.
That passenger train was in the heart of Belgrade.
Maybe the Iraqis should take the lesson to heart - having terrorists nearby endangers your life, so if you're not willing to be a sacrifice for their cause you should do everything you can to make sure they are not able to operate in your neighborhood.
The Baiji strike was one of 58 air missions the U.S. military carried out Monday over Iraq.U.S. military officials said they are investigating why the wrong building was hit.
Pajama People should investigate why this is the only one of 58 missions in one night that Time-Life-Warner-Turner-CNN chose to report on.
moral of the story
don't live so close to them
or turn them in if you wanna remove the risk of an accidental bombing.... from either side
I haven't been in the military so this is strictly coming from a civilian... but if a Predator sees insurgents setting up a road side bomb and then they walk away to a house, then I'm assuming it would be pretty dangerous to bomb that house because of the chance of their being civilians inside. From a military perspective, I'm wondering why they wouldn't surround the house instead?
Let me guess, it was a house of innocent people having a wedding celebration!
A) No appropriate forces in the area, and
B) urban combat is very high risk.
OH Well. Thus are the fortunes of war.
don't live so close to them
or turn them in
That's the same excuse the DEA uses when they mistakenly break down the wrong door and shoot an innocent victim.
Indeed. missed by 65 feet, should have been a 85 foot bomb
Just to be picky - I was under the impression the F-14 is no longer in service.
You know, the poor quality of writing in major news outlets continues to amaze me.
Which building was strafed? The correct building, or the one hit by the bomb? Did the bomb miss, or was it simply targeted on the wrong building?
The F-14 is being phased out, but it's still in service.
You were mistaken. VF-31 and VF-213 embarked onboard the Theodore Roosevelt are both flying the F-14D. This cruise will be the final one for a Tomcat equipped squadron.
Where's the 'here we go again' picture.....the libs will have a hay day over this....can you just hear the deanybaby and murcha jacking their jaws????
OKay then just write it off as operator error or hardware failure. or hardware calibration
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