US says tank fires at bombers, 3 Iraqi children die

[maddezmom]

Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, June 2 (Reuters) - Three Iraqi children were killed when a U.S. tank fired at insurgents planting roadside bombs on Friday near the Sunni town of Falluja, west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said.

The statement said one insurgent was wounded and three men fled the scene. It also quoted local people as saying the three dead children were 7, 9 and 11 years old.

It said the incident was under investigation.

"Three children were killed and one insurgent was wounded when a Coalition Force tank fired on three men emplacing an improvised explosive device (IED) outside Falluja," it said.

"Due to dust and debris, the tank crew's view of the blast was obscured immediately after they fired. It is not clear at this time if there were secondary explosions at either site from IED material," it said.

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/KAR225211.htm

[krispos42]

1. This is why tanks also mount machine guns

A bit more precise THAN A FUCKING CANNON!!!!!

[Spinzonner]

2. I expect that they would like to

cause any other IED's in the area to also explode to reduce the risk if/when they approach the site.

And take out any insurgents FOR SURE.

The IED's are a nightmare for them. It's about survival now, not nice rules of war.

[ohio2007]

7. IED's kill more Iraqi's collaterally than soldiers

Why were children sheilding the 'fighters' as they setup their traps?
I'm sure they were used for that purpose. How many times in the past did the rules of engagement forbid fireing in such a situation?
dunno
...operation surge lasts until September.

[krispos42]

8. Oh, I have no problem with that...

But there is NO reason they couldn't fire a burst of machine-gun fire, kill the bad guys, THEN blow up the IEDs with a 120mm HE round after all the civvies have run away at the sound of the machine gun.

[razzleberry]

10. .50 cal, short range, only a mile or so

I would guess that the main gun has a range of ten miles or so

[Massachusetts]

3. Simple math 3 x

3 children x (6 parents (if alive) + ? brothers and sisters + uncles + aunts + cousins + FRIENDS)= New Enemies

[MrSlayer]

4. This war is just ridiculous.

So many innocents lost on both sides and for what? Greed? Ideology? It's just sick.

[maddezmom]

5. Mortar attacks kill 8 in Baghdad

BAGHDAD - A series of mortar barrages killed eight civilians and wounded 25 others early Saturday in a Sunni neighborhood in central Baghdad, police said, while a strategic bridge was damaged by a bomb in northern Iraq.

The mortars began slamming into the Fadhil area in Baghdad at 1:30 a.m. and continued sporadically until 7 a.m., damaging five houses, a policeman said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to deal with the media.

At least one woman and one child were among the eight dead, he said.

Fadhil is a Sunni enclave in the Shiite-dominated area east of the Tigris River dividing Baghdad. Baghdad's Sunni and Shiite neighborhoods frequently exchange mortar and other fire in Iraq's continuing sectarian conflict.


more:http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070602/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

[maddezmom]

6. Civilian death toll in Iraq spikes in May nearly 2000

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/COL241131.htm

[maddezmom]

9. Roundup of Iraq Violence -- Saturday, June 2, 2007

Roundup of Iraq Violence -- Saturday, June 2, 2007
By Laith Hammoudi
McClatchy Newspapers
The daily Iraq violence report is compiled by McClatchy Newspapers from police, military and medical reports. This is not a comprehensive list of all violence in Iraq, much of which goes unreported. It’s posted without editing as transmitted to McClatchy’s Washington Bureau.


Baghdad

- 7 civilians were wounded when mortar shells hit Al Fadhil neighborhood

- Gunmen killed the Imam of Al Siddeeq mosque in Ghazaliya neighborhood west Baghdad around 6:15 pm.

- Iraqi explosives experts defused 12 IEDs in Saidiyah neighborhood south Baghdad.

- 26 bodies were found in Baghdad today. 18 bodies were found in Karkh, the western side of Baghdad, in the following neighborhoods: 6 in Ghazaliyah, 3 in Amil, 2 in Jihad, 2 in Hurriyah, 2 in Yarmouk, 2 in Bayaa, 1 in AL Jami’a. 8 bodies were found in Rusafa, the eastern side of Baghdad, in the following neighborhoods: 2 in Sadr city, 2 in Sleikh, 1 in Rashdiyah, 1 in Baghdad Al Jadida, 1 in Fadhil and 1 in Adhemiyah.

more:http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/world/17315645.htm?source=rss&channel=krwashington_world