Iraqi security forces stage walkout near Baghdad

By Tina Susman and Cesar Ahmed, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
U.S.-allied security forces said today they were abandoning their posts in a volatile area south of Baghdad to protest airstrikes by American forces that they say have killed at least 12 civilians this month. The walkout followed an airstrike Friday near the town of Jarf Sakhr that tribal leaders said killed three members of the Sons of Iraq, the civilian guard corps credited with helping reduce violence across Iraq. The U.S. military said Friday that helicopters responding to gunfire near Jarf Sakhr rocketed a building, but it did not confirm any casualties. On Feb. 2, nine Iraqis, including three Sons of Iraq members, were killed in the same area in an errant airstrike that the U.S. military acknowledged...
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