U.S. Troops Kill Iraqi Girl On Roadside
Military Says Shot Meant As Warning; Deadly Car Bomb Blast Wounds Dozens In Baghdad
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Awakening council member looks at the damage after a truck bomb exploded at a nearby Awakening Council checkpoint in Duluiyah, 45 miles north of Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, March 12, 2008. (AP Photo/Hameed Rasheed)
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A U.S. soldier stands in front of a bus that was hit by a roadside bomb near Nasiriyah, about 200 miles southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, March, 11, 2008. At least 16 civilians aboard died and another 22 were wounded in the blast. (AP Photo/Nabil al-Jurani)
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An Iraqi boy reacts in pain after he was wounded in a roadside bomb blast that targeted an American military patrol, at a hospital in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, March 13, 2008. (AP Photo/Karim Kadim)
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Later Thursday, police said a parked car bomb had exploded in a commercial district of central Baghdad, killing eight people and wounding another 41.
The bombing took place off a bridge in Tahrir Square, a district of clothing shops just outside the heavily fortified Green Zone, which houses the U.S. Embassy and much of the Iraqi government, an Iraqi police official said on condition of anonymity as he wasn't authorized to release the information. No more information was immediately available.
The shooting, which took place Wednesday afternoon, occurred in the volatile Diyala province north of Baghdad. An exact location was not given in a military statement.
The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old," said Maj. Brad Leighton, a military spokesman.
There has been an increase in the use of women as suicide bombers in Iraq.
The latest such attack occurred Monday when a female suicide bomber killed a U.S.-backed Sunni leader who formed a group to fight against al Qaeda insurgents in Diyala after his guards ushered her into the home without searching her.
Leighton, however, said preliminary reports indicated that soldiers didn't believe the woman posed a threat of being a suicide bomber, but rather "they were afraid she was signaling to someone that the convoy was going by."
In its statement, the military said that "coalition forces fired a warning shot into a berm near a suspicious woman who appeared to be signaling to someone while the soldiers were in the area. A young girl was found behind the berm suffering from a gunshot wound."
Roadside bombs have been the biggest killer of American troops in Iraq.
On Tuesday, an American soldier died when a roadside bomb hit his patrol near Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad. Three soldiers died in a roadside bombing in Diyala on Monday.
"There is no indication that the soldiers thought she was a suicide bomber. They were more fearful of IEDs along that road," Leighton said of the woman, using the military term for roadside bombs.
Coalition forces take the loss of any innocent civilian life seriously and the incident will be thoroughly investigated.
Maj. Dan MeyersU.S. Military spokesman
"Coalition forces take the loss of any innocent civilian life seriously and the incident will be thoroughly investigated," military spokesman Maj. Dan Meyers said in the statement.
In other developments:
The spate of suicide bombings to hit Baghdad in just the past week has killed scores of Iraqis and five U.S. soldiers. Suddenly, the city is feeling the unease of the period before violence eased partly as a result of the U.S. troop buildup, which is now coming to a close.
"Violence has increased dramatically" over the past few days, said Haitham Ismael, a 33-year-old father of three living in western Baghdad.
After five years of war, Iraqis interviewed said they were not necessarily changing their daily routines. But all said the growing bloodshed was present in their minds, clouding what had until recently been a more hopeful time.
Some fear that the rampant violence of one year ago may be coming back, especially as the 30,000 soldiers sent to Baghdad last summer to help end a sectarian war begin returning home.
The key goal of the U.S. "surge" was to secure the capital, giving Iraq's politicians breathing room to cut deals that would bring minority Sunni Arabs into the government and thereby weaken or end the insurgency.
Violence in the capital has indeed diminished, thanks also to a maze of walls and barriers that divide Shiite from Sunni neighborhoods, a key Shiite militia's cease-fire and the decision by many Sunnis to turn against al Qaeda in Iraq. As a result, street life and even nightlife have returned to many districts, particularly Shiite.
But Iraqi politicians are still gridlocked over sharing power, and citizens appear to have little hope that Iraqi forces could control al Qaeda in Iraq and renegade Shiite militias on their own.
"I'm 100 percent certain that if the U.S. forces leave now, the situation will become very explosive," said Naji Hassan Yassin, a 55-year-old math teacher and father of three from the capital's Amariyah neighborhood, once controlled by al Qaeda in Iraq.
"I think militant groups, whether Shiite or Sunni, will not disappear," said Yassin, a Sunni. "They do this (disappear) only when there are troops on the street. But they will return when they leave. How long can we keep all these American troops on the ground?"
It is a question that reverberates from Baghdad to Capitol Hill.
Despite recent attacks in Baghdad, American commanders have sought to reassure a nervous public, though by no means with rosy forecasts.
"Al Qaeda, we have continued to assess, is the one (group) that has the greatest threat to security and stability in the near term and the one we are focused a great deal on," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Kevin Bergner told reporters Wednesday.
While Bergner was quick to note that violence has decreased nationwide in the last nine months - the military says all attacks have fallen by 60 percent - he also expressed a standard military caveat.
"We've said all along that there will be tough days ahead and periods where we see al Qaeda seek to adapt new tactics and new approaches," Bergner said.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 251 CommentsFrom the article-
Re: "U.S. soldiers shot and killed a young Iraqi girl after firing a warning shot at a woman who "appeared to be signaling to someone" along a stretch of road where several roadside bombs had recently been found, a military official said early Thursday."
"The girl appeared to be "around 10 years old,"
Looks like the ranks of our military are really scraping the bottom of the barrel of imbeciles and cowards, at his point.
What a shameful disgrace.
Re: "There has been an increase in the use of women as suicide bombers in Iraq."
This kind relentless nonsense, parroted over and over again by the Western press, allows for cowardly fools to murder 10 year old girls, because it causes them to be scared of their own shadows, at this point.
In this way, among others, the corporate media is complicit in the death of this little girl.
I certainly do not support the troops who are responsible for this, and countless other atrocities in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere.
They have compounded the already immense shame that we all must face. Very poor job.
The people of Iraq and Afghanistan have every right to defend themselves.
Best of luck to them.
Re: "The key goal of the U.S. "surge" was to secure the capital..."
Hogwash.
The key goal of the surge was to stall long enough for Americans to get distracted by something else- like their own wallets, and national elections.
It worked perfectly.
Re: "We''ve said all along that there will be tough days ahead and periods where we see al Qaeda seek to adapt new tactics and new approaches," Bergner said."
Actually, they claimed that they "defeated" this imaginary group several months ago.
This brainwashed automaton sounds like he believes his own B.S.
Posted by andrew_693
The people of Iraq and Afghanistan have every right to defend themselves.
Best of luck to them.
Posted by FeelFree1
This CBS (Communist News Network) Post has become a site for Terrorists like the ones above. No matter that last month Al Qaeda strapped bombs to children and slaughtered innocent women and children in IRAQ and Afganistan. Thats ok, the Democrats are not mad at their friends the terrorists, they are mad at America, just like the terrorists. American troops are killed by "IRAQ Rockets"??. IRAQ terrorists have no rockets. The terrorists get rockets, guns, bombs, money, training and support from their friends, IRAN, Al Qaeda and Democrats. And these are the people that want to rule America.
feelyfeely, nancy, kris, you folks seriously need a life. Take some time to evaluate your mental condition. Divert your energy into helping someone. When is the last time you did something nice for a stranger?
Peace and Love
poste by demslie
The only ones who actually are proven to have given weapons to terrorists is the Reagan administration, who gave Iran a nice, large supply of US weapons. I wonder how many Americans have died because of those weapons.
they have been killing anything that moves in that country four six years now;
a republiCON plant a right wing tool
get honest demslie, read something besides your bible
Well thank gawd we killed her, that will keep the
surge going;
mission accomplished
feelyfeely, nancy, kris, you folks seriously need a life. Take some time to evaluate your mental condition. Divert your energy into helping someone. When is the last time you did something nice for a stranger?
Peace and Love
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Posted by nwihoosier at 06:37 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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Do you know them? You folks always try to appear Superior to those who really DO care, those who raise issue with the lies of the American Dictator. I just wondered how you KNEW these people never helped anyone? Sieg Heil Bush!!
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Posted by demslie at 06:32 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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Wow! You get TWO bootlicker Awards in one day!! Well done!! Did you get extra training or did you attend TWO Rallies this Weekend? Even the Klan Site doesn''t try to paint "Democrats" as being evil like you do. Strange though that you do not let people know you are a fascist, although most people already know that. I just wondered why you would revert back to the old Joe McCarthy tactic of calling anyone who doesn''t print what you want a "communist". Haven''t seen that one in awhile. Lapse or are you Nazi''s REALLY begining to panic?? Sieg Heil Bush!! Come on you pathetic bootlicker let everyone know you stand for the "party"! sing it out!! SIEG HEIL MEIN FUHRER!! Good little bootlicker!!
Obviously you have never served or you wouldn''t make a comment like that about any human life. You are so asinine to make such a statement. Our troops are professionals and doing a damm fine job considering the mess they were sent into. How dare you talk against our troops ? If you don''t like our country so much, leave it. If you think you can do a better job then sign up and get over there and start heping, otherwise shut the hell up.
Our troops are heroes. It''s their incompetent commander in chief who is to blame. President ''knucklechucks'' sent them into that forsaken mess without a clear mission or exit strategy. Blood of the innocent on all sides will continue to flow until our brave woman and men are brought home and out of harms way.
This is why you never invade as preemptive strike and also you do not occupy an entire nation with 200,000 or fewer troops. The brilliant ''yes men'' who told Bush otherwise should be run out of the corps. Betray-us is one of them!!
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Posted by singinrick at 07:39 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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I''m sick and tired of your BIGOTRY toward Muslim''s. I have know many Muslims in my life and they are no different than most people and FAR better than you freaks. As a Young Cpl in the USMC I had a Marine at my back in Vietnam. That Marine saved my life several times before he lost his. HE was a MUSLIM you pathetic slime dog! Now crawl back into your cave and let people who know how to deal with extremist deal with this. The people who attacked this nation were CRIMINALS period. Their religion should have nothing to do with anything. Sieg Heil and Amen
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Posted by singinrick at 07:42 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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Gotta hand it to you Klan types... all you''ve changed is the Name. Same tired old hate, just changed from RACE to RELIGION. Wouldn''t care to tell us about the Christian Identity Freaks would you there sparky? Personally, I''ll take a Muslim over you losers anytime. Sieg Heil and Amen
Your right. The Muslims i have met are very fine people. I do not consider a terrorist a Muslim as Muslims are peace loving people. I think we shold respect all peoples rights to their religious beliefs.
A fellow Viet Vet
Posted by MCVet at 08:01 AM : Mar 13, 2008
for anyone on this board not from america, let me be the first to apoligize for McVet, he does not represent rational americans. He has a condition called PTSD and really can''t help his immature rantings. Best I can say is pray for him as he is very angry disturbed human. Have a nice day everyone.
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Who cares what you did while burning villages and killing babies. You killed numerous asians and now deflect criticism for Muslims. What a hypocrite.
McVet has served his country, have you ? I bet not. I doubt you have the guts to sign up and go to war, until you have you don''t have a right to an opinion against any vet.
ranger1948 -
Yes, the nerve of those parents. Hey Einstein, maybe they have already been killed in this God-forsaken war! Maybe she''s an orpahn! Did you ever stop to think about any of those things??? Or maybe she was walking that road to get food or water for her family.
The point is, you ignorant right wingers always ASSume you know what the hell is going on over there, even though you have no idea as to their culture or way of life. Now I''m not assuming to know either, but don''t spout off at the mouth with ignorant comments like this. That kind of thinking has got us in the mess we are in right now.
I am a vet and have served so i earned the right to spout off at the mouth, have you ? My point is a ten year old girl had no business in an area where terrorists have been planting bombs for any reason.
".... and the guilty part exonerated."
I THINK I KNOW MORE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON OVER THERE THAN YOU. I HAVE TALKED TO SEVERAL WOUNDED VETS IN MILITARY HOSPITALS AND MY DAUGHTER IS SERVING IN IRAQ RIGHT NOW.
You are assuming that someone is guilty of doing something wrong. This was not an intentional killing, but a tragic accident.
95% of Muslims are peace loving people who do not believe in war, the terrorists claim to be Muslims but believe it is right to kill anyone who isn''t a Muslim or doesn''t think the same way they do. The three southeren provinces in Thailand are having Muslims killed every day by terrorists. What the terrorists think they are gaining by killing Muslims i have no idea. Mcvet isn''t against Christains, he is against people badmouthing nice peopl of the Muslim faith which happens to be a majority. My daughter is a Muslim and lives in Krgyzstan which is a pro American country and is all Muslim. W e need to learn to respect others peoples rights to their religious beliefs.
Without military experience what qualifies you to know anything about a war ? McVet stated he served in Vietnam. Your comments show you have not served by their stupidity.
A former devout Muslim ? Now he is a christain, how devout was he ? And the testimony of a former palestinian terrorist, how much do you think i would believe from a terrorist ? I meet Muslims every day and they are very nice people. W e need to learn to respect others peoples religious beliefs.
Your irrational rantings show you have never served. Need i say more ?
McVet and i hacve both walked the walk. Until you have your opinion doesn''t mean spit to a vet.
Posted by singinrick at 08:30 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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Because she LIVES there you idiot. We are occupying their home. This ten year old girl and all the other civilians who are killed everyday (by the tens of thousands to date) are not the bogeyman in this fear mongering mess.
The media ignores the good things happening in Iraq, but as soon as our brave hero troops are involved in anything negative, the media jumps all over it. The only explanation is that the media has joined with the Democratic party in its effort to undermine the war and to secure defeat in Iraq.
McVet has served his country, have you ? I bet not. I doubt you have the guts to sign up and go to war, until you have you don''''t have a right to an opinion against any vet.
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Posted by ranger1948 at 08:08 AM : Mar 13, 2008
thats lame response, typical lib response tho.. i don''t have to be a vet to know that mcvet suffers from ptsd...to bad he has surrounded himself with people like you that tells him what he wants to hear instead of what he needs to hear....sort of like what brittany spears has done....look where she is headed
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Posted by ajayvee at 09:02 AM : Mar 13, 2008
i bet we don''t....what an idiotic post
McVet and i hacve both walked the walk. Until you have your opinion doesn''t mean spit to a vet.
Posted by ranger1948
How many people do I need to kill to be a full fledged human being like you guys?
McVet and i hacve both walked the walk. Until you have your opinion doesn''''''''t mean spit to a vet.
Posted by ranger1948
Being a vet means you agreed to kill people. It doesn''t make you smarter or superior to other people in any way. What is the world coming to when killers think they are the only ones who have any moral authority?
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Posted by random_radar at 09:05 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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That just went right over your head didn''t it? You Fascist are beyond help at this point so there''s no reason to point out to you what the poster was trying to say. At this point you will attack anyone, no matter who they are, if they don''t agree with the "Party".
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Posted by jwind11 at 09:03 AM : Mar 13, 2008
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You know this how? Fascist have always attacked people who won''t agree with them and their "party" calling them sick and the like. I have read Sarges post and they are from someone who has been there, who has suffered the horror of Combat. Now IF you, as we all can now see, haven''t been there with the rest of us, I to am a Viet Vet, how can you make blanket statements like that. How many vets will it take for you fools to understand what we''re saying? Combat Vet, USMC, 1968-1972
Of course, rick, and others like him will say that the woman and child were terrorists, simply because they are not Christians.
Good things the troops are doing in Iraq? they are doing no good things, Iraq had trained workers before we bombed them, they had schools before we bombed them, they had educated people before we kidnapped, tortured, and in many cases murdered them.
Any small gestures that attempt to disguise the real agenda are disingenuous at best, this is why they are not broadcast, if you bomb an entire neighborhood, then give the only remaining living child a lollipop, this is not "doing good".
We shouldn''t even be there, much less still killing those people, there is no sane reason for it.
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