US strikes in Baghdad kill 14 sleeping civilians

[Robbien]

Source: AFP

. . .

Iraqi defence and interior ministry officials said US helicopters fired on houses in the Al-Washash neighbourhood of Mansour district in west Baghdad between 2:00 am and 3:00 am.

Abu Ali Saad, a resident of the mainly Shiite enclave, said US military vehicles had arrived in large numbers in Al-Washash during the night. "There were tanks and armoured vehicles and many troops," 35-year-old Saad told AFP while surveying the rubble of his neighbour's house.

"The tanks started firing then the helicopters came. Missiles were fired from the air. Houses were destroyed. A family of five were killed in this house," he said, referring to his neighbours. "We are a peaceful neighbourhood. There are no militia here. There were no exchanges of fire. We were all sleeping."

. . .

An AFP photographer on the scene said three houses were destroyed and two damaged.

Amid the rubble of one house was a mattress covered in blood with human body parts scattered about. Neighbours said a family of six had been killed in the house, including a 12-year-old girl.

Read more: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jMF2P75B8c4dTOw9h8IEgsAmW7FA

[scarface2004]

1. it should say 'us storm troopers strike.......

bush the war criminal.

[saigon68]

12. Thugs and War Criminals murder children in their Beds

Democracy and FREEDOM on the march


"BRING EM ON" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[The Stranger]

2. So how is murdering civilians sleeping in their houses not Terrorism?

Are we supposed to support the troops doing this?

[whopis01]

20. hell no we are not supposed to support the troops that do this! n/t

[iconoclastic cat]

3. In any normal country, there would be outrage. In the U.S., not so much.

Every time something like this happens, my reflex is to say, "This is reprehensible! We won't stand for it!" And then we do.

[Toots]

4. Surge is working just fine don't ya think?

I will find it extremely difficult to ever befriend any soldier that served in Iraq. They have become demented..

[ClintonTyree]

5. Is this the same story?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070906/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq

US Raid in Iraq Kills 14 Militiamen

BAGHDAD - American and Iraqi Special Forces clashed with suspected Shiite militiamen Thursday in western Baghdad before calling in airstrikes, the U.S. military said. Residents and police said at least 14 people were killed.

Acting on intelligence information, the U.S. and Iraqi troops launched the early-morning raid in the capital's Washash area against the suspected terrorist cell, which was believed to be responsible for attacks on police and sectarian killings, the U.S. command said.

As the troops entered the area, they came under fire from more than a dozen militiamen firing from the rooftops.

"Iraqi and U.S. forces then responded with well-aimed and suppressive fire," the military said. "Forces also directed proportional aerial fire onto targeted buildings against positively identified armed gunmen directing small arms fires onto the assault force."

This sounds a little different than the other story, doesn't it? Now, I wonder which one is the TRUTH? Two reports on the same raid: one declaring a huge victory for the U.S. over terrorists and the other reporting that civilians were murdered as they slept. :shrug: Two completely different pictures painted from the same bloody medium.

[askeptic]

6. This is being played in the mainstream press as a terrorist cell

...so a completely different story has been woven for the consumption of the American public. Played as a terrorist cell (based on "intelligence"), they amassed their tanks and helicopters and completely destroyed those "terrorists" before they could do any more dastardly deeds:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-09-06-iraq-thursday_N.htm

[ClintonTyree]

8. The propaganda catapulting continues....

we wouldn't want the American people read the truth, would we? No, America's actions must always be noble and just. Even if they have to lie out of their asses to do it.

Sounds like more Pentagon damage control to me. "Who, us"? :eyes:

[leftchick]

9. yes they look like terrorists

A woman and her daughter stand at the scene of a U.S. airstrike in Baghdad September 6, 2007. A U.S. airstrike on a Baghdad neighbourhood overnight killed 14 people and demolished several houses, the police said on Thursday. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ



Notice this terrorist left behind his bottle. :(




A feeding bottle lies on a pillow amid the rubble of a destroyed house after a U.S airstrike in Baghdad September 6, 2007. A U.S. airstrike on a Baghdad neighbourhood overnight killed 14 people and demolished several houses, the police said on Thursday. REUTERS/Mahmoud Raouf Mahmoud (IRAQ)

[leftchick]

7. Photos of the 'Terrorists'

A neighbor carries Montadar Ali, 4, second from left, who lost his entire family when his house was destroyed in an early-morning attack in the Washash area, western Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. At least 14 people were killed early Thursday in a U.S. attack on a western Baghdad neighborhood, police and residents said. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban



People walk past the ruins of a house that was destroyed in a early-morning attack in the Washash area, western Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. At least 14 people were killed early Thursday in a U.S. attack on a western Baghdad neighborhood, police and residents said. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)



Mohammed Hassan, 30, looks at the rooftop where his brothers family died during an early-morning attack in the Washash area, western Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. At least 14 people were killed early Thursday in a U.S. attack on a western Baghdad neighborhood, police and residents said. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)



An Iraqi man displays a school bag that was destroyed in a early-morning attack in the Washash area, western Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. At least 14 people were killed early Thursday in a U.S. attack on a western Baghdad neighborhood, police and residents said. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)



Jafar Abdul Amer, 13, walks through the ruins of a house that was destroyed in an early morning attack in the Washash area, western Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. At least 14 people were killed early Thursday in a U.S. attack on a western Baghdad neighborhood, police and residents said. The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)


Sadly more here...http://news.yahoo.com/photos/ss/events/iraq/082701iraqplane/im:/070906/481/c93ed12c606a4af388c634695004a1d6

[ClintonTyree]

10. Oy.....

"militiamen", my ass. :grr:

Winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people one bombing at a time. :banghead:

[saigon68]

13. aware of the report but had no immediate comment.

The U.S. command in Baghdad said it was aware of the report but had no immediate comment.

[leftchick]

18. they are commenting now with fiction.....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6981128.stm

The US military said it had targeted Shia extremists in "enemy strongholds".

Mansour is mostly Sunni, but there is a pocket where there is strong support for Moqtada Sadr's Mehdi Army militia.

<snip>

The US military said Iraqi soldiers and US Special Forces had called in the air strikes in Washash when they came under fire during an operation targeting a number of "Shia extremist militants".


It said the militants were responsible for attacking local police, erecting illegal checkpoints, and killing local Sunni Arabs.

"When Iraqi and US Special Forces members entered the area, they immediately came under fire from more than a dozen extremists firing from the rooftops of surrounding buildings," a statement said.

The soldiers then directed aircraft fire on two buildings where the gunmen were holed up, the military said, adding that the response was both "proportional" and "well-aimed".

[Pachamama]

16. As Bushler would say "We're kicking Ass!!!"

How proud he must be....

:cry:

[LibDemAlways]

11. Haven't we done enough damage?

It enrages me when I hear talking heads spouting Bush Crime Family nonsense that pulling out of Iraq would lead to chaos and would mean the "enemy" had won. There's already plenty of chaos, and we're responsible - directly or indirectly - for most of it.

[Purveyor]

14. Winning those "hearts and minds", indeed! K&R nt.

[Supersedeas]

15. what shiny happy news will Katie Lipstick Couric have for us tonite

[saigon68]

21. Lipstick Couric NeoCon Cheerleader and Enabler

What an ass clown performance at fawning at the feet of Puppet Petraeus

[tabasco]

17. Jesus Christ Almighty.

I have had to witness two murderous, unjustified wars in my lifetime. I never thought the Nation could be suckered into another one after the horrible mistake of Vietnam. If we are able to establish a responsible government again in the US, I hope the Iraqis can forgive us.

I am a combat vet and I know how any mission, no matter how disastrous, can be spun as a victory. I'm thinking television had a lot to do with getting us out of Vietnam, but it had a lot to do with getting us into Iraq. The consolidated corporate media of today has no desire to show the truth - it shows what is good for corporations. We rarely see the carnage of Iraq on our telescreens anymore.

[lonestarnot]

19. What a fucking crying shame.

:cry: