|
Air strikes target civilians { January 3 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/03/iraq.main/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/01/03/iraq.main/
Iraqi official: U.S. air strikes kill 6
Tuesday, January 3, 2006 Posted: 1244 GMT (2044 HKT)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- U.S. air strikes in Bayji north of Baghdad killed six members of a single family, Wamir abd el-Wahab, a spokesman for the Salah ad-Din provincial governor's office, said Tuesday.
El-Wahab said three other family members were seriously wounded in the attack Monday and the father and a daughter survived relatively unharmed.
The house, the spokesman said, was flattened. "Why are they hitting civilians?" el-Wahab asked.
A spokesman for the U.S. military said air operations had taken place in the area overnight but had no further details. He said the incident was under investigation.
In a statement, the military said it conducted 58 air missions over Iraq on Monday, including one strike by U.S. Navy F-14s "in the vicinity of Bayji."
"The F-14s strafed the target with 100 cannon rounds and expended one precision-guided munition with successful effects against insurgents placing an improvised explosive device," the statement said, but it wasn't clear whether that was the attack in question.
None of the other missions in the statement were in the Bayji area.
In a separate statement covering only the Bayji incident, the military said an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft spotted three men "suspected of emplacing an improvised explosive device" late Monday, and "close air support" was called in.
"The individuals left the road site and were followed from the air to a nearby building," the second statement said. "Coalition forces employed precision guided munitions on the structure. Local Iraqi police were the first authorities at the scene to conduct post-event response."
Failed assassination attempts
Two assassination attempts against officials in Baghdad failed Monday, but a suicide car bomber killed seven people in an attack on a bus carrying police recruits.
The suicide bomber struck early Monday in Baquba, about 35 miles north of Baghdad, said a spokesman for the Joint Coordination Center, which serves a liaison between Iraqi and multinational forces.
Of the seven killed, three were identified as police recruits. The other bodies were too charred for immediate identification.
Hours later, Iraq's industry minister, Usama al-Najafai, survived a roadside bomb attack, Iraqi emergency police said.
And Turkey's ambassador to Iraq escaped unharmed from a coordinated assault on his convoy by 15 to 20 gunmen, said an embassy official who requested anonymity.
Ambassador Unal Cevikoz was leaving the Um al-Qura mosque in western Baghdad when rooftop gunfire rained on his three-car convoy, the official said.
The convoy sped away without anyone getting injured, the embassy official said.
Those assaults came a day after a 7-ton truck slammed into a bus and killed four U.S. civilian contractors.
Authorities are investigating what caused the accident at the Al Asad Air Base in Anbar province.
The fatal crash also injured 18 people, including a U.S. Marine.
Other developments
* Iraqi Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Ulum announced Monday that he had resigned his post in a protest over higher gas prices. Ahmed Chalabi -- the controversial former exile who has had a rocky relationship with the United States since the war began -- took over as interim oil minister.
* Three bodies were found Monday south of Baghdad, emergency police said. The bodies had their hands tied behind their backs; there were gunshot wounds and signs of torture, police said. There were no signs of identification.
* The father of Farris Hassan, the 16-year-old American who traveled alone to Iraq last month, said Monday that he had helped his son get a visa into Iraq from Beirut, Lebanon. Redha Hassan said he told his son to go to Lebanon and said he spoke with him almost daily. The teen is expected to offer more details about his journey on Tuesday. (Full story)
CNN's Arwa Damon contributed to this report.
|
|
