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Us soldiers shoot at civilian Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/5644817.htm http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/5644817.htm Posted on Wed, Apr. 16, 2003 U.S. soldiers shoot at mob to stop violence in Mosul By Paul Watson Los Angeles Times MOSUL, Iraq - U.S. special-forces troops, caught in the middle of a political power grab, battled a violent mob with assault rifles and heavy machine guns from the governor's building here Tuesday. A crowd of more than 2,000 repeatedly surged at the building for around an hour, hurling rocks and chunks of concrete, as U.S. soldiers drove them back with one barrage after another, including rounds from .50-caliber machine guns. There were unconfirmed reports that at least 10 people were killed and 16 injured. After the mob broke up, smaller groups formed throughout the afternoon to attempt new attacks. The special forces called in two American warplanes that shrieked just above the city's rooftops. But the low passes were no more frightening than a county-fair air show to the angry protesters. What started the fighting was unclear. One chieftain claimed it came because U.S. troops raised an American flag above the governor's house, an accusation denied by the special-forces commander. Another cause could be rising tensions between rival Kurdish guerrilla forces that entered Mosul with U.S. troops last week. The unrest broke out around 11:30 a.m., when a crowd of about 1,000 people was listening to a speech by an official of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, one of two Kurdish guerrilla factions. Misha'an Juburi, an Arab clan leader who laid claim to the governor's building last week, said the mob was enraged at the sight of a U.S. flag that he claimed was raised atop the building alongside three Iraqi flags during the speech. Lt. Col. Robert Waltemeyer, commander of the 10th Special-Forces Group defending the building, said he gave no order to raise a U.S. flag there, and turning to one of his officers, added: ``Make sure there's no American flag on the roof. ``We've been very discreet, very respectful in our approach to the Iraqi people,'' Waltemeyer said. ``We're not coming in here as conquerors.'' As the PUK leader, surrounded by members of his special-forces unit, was giving the speech, local Arab leaders appeared on the steps of the governor's house accompanied by fighters from the other Kurdish guerrilla group -- the Democratic Party of Kurdistan, or KDP -- and U.S. troops. The mob began hurling rocks and pieces of broken concrete at the politicians and U.S. soldiers and overturned a car near the building's front entrance. The crowd swelled to about 3,000, and U.S. soldiers rushed in to reinforce the building's defenses. Spanish journalist Miguel Rovira, who was at the scene, said U.S. troops held their fire for around 20 minutes but began shooting when the crowd tried to rush the building. A .50-caliber machine gun mounted on a U.S. Humvee pounded off at least two dozen rounds. Other soldiers took up firing positions behind overturned desks in the lobby with assault rifles and light machine guns. Several boys ran within a few yards of the front gate, hurling stones at the soldiers even as the air crackled with gunshots. Most of the firing was over their heads, and many people ran back into the fray when they realized they were not being shot at. Waltemeyer said he would not speculate about the number of casualties but insisted U.S. soldiers would not fire at stone throwers. Doctors in Mosul's general hospital said all but 26 of the casualties were men. The one female casualty was an 11-year-old girl with a chunk of shrapnel embedded in her lung. Relatives said she had been on the roof of a nearby building. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New York Times contributed to this report. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 Mercury News and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.bayarea.com

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