Reply #40: FURTHER INFORMATION (link) [View All]

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

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A fifth occupant who survived the incident with chest injuries also said the vehicle had received fire from a US convoy.

"A soldier from the convoy opened fire as we tried to overtake," Ibrahim Alawi Ahmad Ali al-Amiri, 31, said from his bed in Tikrit's general hospital. He added the dead woman and child were his wife and son and the other two were his parents.


The restive hometown of ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Tikrit is now under the supervision of US troops from the 4th Infantry Division and has been the scene of several clashes between resistance fighters and occupation forces.

US Lieutenant Colonel Steve Russell, head of the 4th Infantry Division battalion, said he was aware of the incident but his men were not involved.

Several Iraqi civilians have been killed in similar circumstances when approaching or overtaking US vehicles.

According to the independent Anglo-American group Iraq Body Count, roughly 8000 to 10,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed since the US-led invasion in April 2003.

The UK-based medical charity Medact last month said up to 55,000 Iraqi lives had been lost since the invasion.

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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C4CF34B9-9D0C-48B2-88C7-7485ED9D6108.htm