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by Mark Finkelstein June 4, 2006 The headline reads 'US probe of Ishaqi killings no surprise for Iraqis.' You might have thought the headline and accompanying article were from Al-Jazeera. Dripping with skepticism, the headline suggests that the US military inquiry that cleared American soldiers from wrongdoing in connection with the killing of civilians at Ishaqi was a whitewash. That same cynicism persists throughout the article. Consider these excerpts: "Isa Khalaf doesn't want cash from the U.S. troops he says massacred his relatives in a March raid. He wants an explanation he may never get now that a U.S. probe...

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted on Sat, Jun. 03, 2006 13 civilians died in Ishaqi GIs cleared on raid on Iraq town Star News Services BAGHDAD, Iraq — A military investigation into allegations that Americans intentionally killed civilians in Ishaqi, a village north of Baghdad, has cleared the troops of misconduct, the U.S. said Friday. The inquiry acknowledged the deaths of up to 13 Iraqis in the March raid. There also were developments Friday in two other cases of possible misconduct by U.S. military personnel in Iraq: ■ An attorney for families of some of the two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians allegedly killed...

WASHINGTON, June 3, 2006 – An investigation has concluded that coalition forces "operated in accordance with the rules of engagement governing our combat forces in Iraq" during a March 15 raid in which Iraqi civilians died, a coalition spokesman said early today in Baghdad. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, Multinational Force Iraq spokesman, said that in response to claims that as many as 13 civilians were killed in the raid near Ishaqi, south of Samarra, officials launched an investigation the next day. "The investigation revealed the ground force commander, while capturing and killing terrorists, operated in accordance with...

June 3, 2006 Release A060603a BAGHDAD, Iraq – Maj. Gen. Bil Caldsell the Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman, delivered the following statement June 3 on the Coalition raid that took place near Ishaqi on March 15: “Recently there has been much attention in both the Western and Arabic media concerning reports of Coalition Soldiers killing innocent Iraqi civilians. Temptation exists to lump all these incidents together. However, each case needs to be examined individually. Let me be clear. Multi-National Force - Iraq does not and will not tolerate unethical or criminal behavior. All allegations of the loss of civilian life...

BAGHDAD, June 3 (Reuters) - Iraq vowed on Saturday to press on with its own probe into the deaths of civilians in a U.S. raid on the town of Ishaqi, rejecting the U.S. military's exoneration of its forces. Adnan al-Kazimi, an aide to Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, said the government would also demand an apology from the United States and compensation for the victims in several cases, including the alleged massacre in the town of Haditha last year. "We have from more than one source that the Ishaqi killings were carried out under questionable circumstances. More than one child was...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military probe has exonerated U.S. troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no misconduct, defense officials said on Friday. The Ishaqi incident was one of a handful involving civilian deaths being investigated by the U.S. military, including the deaths of 24 civilians in the town of Haditha last November. Police in Ishaqi, 60 miles north of Baghdad, have said six adults and five children were shot dead in a U.S. military raid on a home on March 15. The U.S....

BAGHDAD, Iraq - A military investigation into allegations that U.S. troops intentionally killed Iraqi civilians in a March raid in Ishaqi, a village north of Baghdad, has cleared the troops of misconduct, the military said Friday — despite dramatic video footage of slain children. Meanwhile, a lawyer representing families of some of the two dozen unarmed Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by U.S. Marines in the western town of Haditha on Nov. 19 said three or four Marines carried out the shootings while 20 more waited outside the homes. He also said victims' relatives turned down a request by U.S. investigators...

Officials Conclude Troops Followed Rules of Engagement Horrific images of Iraqi adults and children have fueled new allegations that U.S. troops killed civilians in the Iraqi town of Ishaqi. But ABC News has learned that military officials have completed their investigation and concluded that U.S. forces followed the rules of engagement. A senior Pentagon official told ABC News the investigation concluded that the allegations of intentional killings of civilians by American forces are unfounded. Military commanders in Iraq launched an investigation soon after the mid-March raid in the village of Ishaqi, about 50 miles north of Baghdad. Maj. Gen. William...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. military probe has exonerated U.S. troops in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in the town of Ishaqi in March, finding American forces followed standard procedures and committed no misconduct, defense officials said on Friday. Police in the town, 60 miles north of Baghdad, have said six adults and five children were shot dead in a U.S. military raid on a home on March 15. But the U.S. military maintained that there were four dead in the incident, including a guerrilla, two women and a child, and they died after troops were fired upon from the...

The BBC has uncovered new video evidence that US forces may have been responsible for the deliberate killing of 11 innocent Iraqi civilians. The video appears to challenge the US military's account of events that took place in the town of Ishaqi in March. The US said at the time four people died during a military operation, but Iraqi police claimed that US troops had deliberately shot the 11 people. A spokesman for US forces in Iraq told the BBC an inquiry was under way. The new evidence comes in the wake of the alleged massacre in Haditha, where US...