Soldiers accidentally kill Sunni leader in Iraq

[unhappycamper]

Soldiers accidentally kill Sunni leader in Iraq
By Kim Gamel - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Sep 23, 2008 17:07:21 EDT

BAGHDAD — American soldiers accidentally shot and killed the leader of a local U.S.-allied Sunni group Tuesday after coming under attack in a volatile area north of Baghdad, the military said.

The latest friendly fire incident came as tensions have been rising among the groups known as the Sons of Iraq, or awakening councils. The military has credited the Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq as a key factor in a sharp decline in violence over the past year.

The head of the group in Siniyah, Jassim al-Garrout, was killed after he rushed to the site of an ambush against U.S. forces in the area, which lies between the northern oil-hub of Beiji and Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit, according to witnesses and police.

One of al-Garrout’s comrades said the group would demand an apology from the Americans.

“The awakening councils have become targets of al-Qaida, the government and sometimes even the U.S. forces. We do not know our fate and we are feeling lost,” Farooq Sami said.


Rest of article at: http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/09/ap_sunni_leader_092308/%2e

[grannie4peace]

1. yikes