Friendly fire in Iraq takes toll on U.S.-led coalition - and Iraqis

By RAWYA RAGEH AND TODD PITMAN

BAGHDAD (AP) - The tragic stories are told across Iraq every day, usually ending in a hail of gunfire, shattered windshields and car seats covered in blood.

Friendly fire - often at U.S. military checkpoints - is taking a toll on the United States and its allies, and with the shooting deaths of an Italian intelligence agent and a Bulgarian soldier, highlighting the fearful reality of everyday life on Iraqi roads.

"They're just cowboys," an infuriated Abdullah Mohammed, said Monday of U.S. troops who shot and killed his brother Feb. 28 as he drove down a street in insurgent-wracked Ramadi. Mohammed said his brother had edged too close to an American patrol. "They killed him without any reason, they suddenly shot at his car."

Weary of suicide car bombers, U.S. military vehicles in Iraq carry signs in Arabic warning civilians to keep a distance or risk the use of "deadly force." Similar warnings are affixed to fortified, tank-manned U.S. checkpoints around the city.

In a country where insurgents launch strikes daily, there's no doubt some of the force is justified. But civilians are getting tangled up in the violence as well, at an alarming rate.

Yarmouk hospital - just one of several large medical facilities in the capital - receives several casualties a day from such shootings, said Dr. Mohamed Salaheddin.

On Saturday, American soldiers opened fire on a civilian vehicle in Baghdad, injuring a man and killing his wife, said Iqbal Sabban, a police officer.

But both sides are often to blame, she said.

"Soldiers carry signs asking people to stay away, but people are sometimes careless," Sabban said. "The Americans are sometimes jittery and open fire at civilians just like that."

Shooting deaths of civilians are so common, they're rarely reported in the media.

When such killings impact foreigners, they can grab headlines, and increase pressure on America's allies to pull out.

On Friday, U.S. troops mistakenly raked a car with gunfire that was carrying Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena to Baghdad's international airport at night, wounding her and killing an Italian intelligence officer who'd just negotiated her release from insurgents.

The same day, a Bulgarian soldier was machine-gunned to death. Bulgarian Defence Minister Nikolai said Monday the soldier was likely shot by accident by coalition forces.

Bulgaria is to decide by the month's end whether to keep its troops in Iraq after their current mission finishes in July. Nikolai, however, said the decision would not be influenced by the latest death.

Bulgarian Georgi Parvanov summoned the American ambassador in Sofia, James Pardew, and complained about the lack of co-ordination between coalition troops in Iraq, his press office said. Svinarov insisted "the coalition partners undertake emergency measures to improve co-ordination at all levels."

In both Bulgaria and Italy, the deaths have sparked heated debate over the presence of the two country's troops in Iraq. Bulgaria has a 460-strong infantry battalion in Iraq; Italy has deployed about 3,000 soldiers.

Coalition authorities are investigating both incidents.

For Iraqis, some shootings - involving trigger-happy foreign security contractors - will never be probed.

Late last month in Baghdad, unidentified foreigners in a convoy of three white sport utility vehicles blasted a small car that had apparently got too close to it with automatic weapons-fire. The woman driving was killed, her body left slumped in the front seat, splattered with blood and shards of glass. Another man, walking by at the time, was hit in the spine with a bullet and paralysed.

Whoever was responsible is unlikely ever to be brought to book.

A U.S. spokesman, marine Sgt. Salju Thomas, said "every incident where there is a loss of life or injury would be investigated" at least those involving U.S. troops and civilians.

"If there was an actual law of war or rule of engagement violation, the service member involved would be prosecuted, it depends of course if it was negligence or premeditated. It all depends on the circumstances," he said.

Asked if rules of engagement changed after the Italian agent was killed Friday, Thomas said "I can't discuss rules of engagement for operational security. But we're constantly evaluating our procedures."

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior Interior Ministry official, said police have published ads in newspapers, warning drivers to keep away from convoys and above all, do not try to pass them "in order to prevent any bloodshed."

Police have advised citizens to turn on hazard lights when approaching checkpoints at night and pull over to let convoys pass.

The debate over the shootings are reminiscent of similar mishaps in the West Bank and Gaza, where Israeli troops have repeatedly shot at approaching cars, causing injuries and death and leading to conflicting versions about whether the driver had behaved suspiciously.

There, as in the in case of the U.S. soldiers in Iraq, the circumstances underscored the dangers facing both civilians approaching checkpoints and soldiers facing insurgents, and bolstered claims that the military was not in full control.

In Iraq, most drivers have learned to keep far away.

On the main airport road, a frequent target of insurgents, lines of U.S. Humvees inch slowly along, snarling traffic. A hundred metres behind them, a three-vehicle-wide front-line of civilian traffic moves uneasily behind.

"It's a real crime when U.S. forces open their fire toward innocent people," Salaheddin said. "They leave families in deep sorrow, they leave them helpless."

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/Iraq/2005/03/07/953123-ap.html