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U.S. Soldiers Kill Three Iraqis, Helicopter Downed
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A
file photo of two U.S. army Apache attack helicopters fly over the
Tigris River
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BAGHDAD,
January 13 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – American
occupation forces gunned down Tuesday, January 13, three Iraqi
protesters in the flashpoint town of Fallujah, as a U.S. helicopter
gunship was forced down.
Medical
sources in Fallujah hospital
said at least three Iraqis were killed and five others seriously
injured by American troops, reported Al-Jazeera.
U.S.
occupation sources claimed coming under fire while guarding a mass
demonstration.
Iraqi
scholars have called for the rally to protest American practices and
detention campaigns.
Angry
Iraqis were calling for the release of relatives and compatriots
detained by the American
forces.
Meanwhile,
a U.S. AH-60 Apache crashed around 10:00 am (0700 GMT) some 15
kilometers north of Habbaniyah, not far from Fallujah.
"Our
initial information tells us that it's possible that the helicopter
was downed by or at least was struck by enemy fire," Reuters
quoted an American military spokesman as saying.
Another
military spokesman said two crew members of the attacked helicopter
had survived the crash, but he did not know if they were injured.
Reuters
Television footage showed the helicopter in a field near the town of
Habbaniya. It appeared to be more or less intact.
Nine
U.S. soldiers were killed
when a UH-60 Blackhawk was hit by "enemy fire" outside
Fallujah on Thursday, January
8.
Six
American occupation forces were killed Friday, November 7, when a
Black Hawk helicopter gunship was "forced
down" near Tikrit.
One
American soldier died and another was wounded when ground fire struck
an OH-58 Delta Kiowa reconnaissance aircraft on January 2.
In
November, 17 U.S. soldiers were killed when two Black Hawks collided
near the northern city of Mosul when they came under attack.
Job
Protests Unabated
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An
Iraqi medic treats wounded Iraqi following clashes with
Ukrainian soldiers in Kut (AFP)
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Meanwhile,
seven Iraqis were wounded Tuesday when U.S.-led soldiers opened fire
on a crowd of jobless protestors in the southern city of Kut, police
said.
About
100 protestors threw several grenades toward Ukrainian soldiers
stationed around city hall offices who fired off warning shots to
disperse them, an Agence France-Presse (AFP) correspondent said.
On
Monday, Ukrainian soldiers, part of a 9,200-strong Polish-led force in
the central-south, drove in reinforcements to push back some 1,000
jobless Iraqis who converged on city hall, stoning troops and police.
Police
said four Iraqi policemen and two Ukrainian soldiers were lightly hurt
and a demonstrator was taken to hospital for treatment.
Seeking
to defuse the volatile situation, Ukrainian officers met Monday with
protest leaders who demanded jobs, food and corruption combat.
Kut,
175 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, is the second Shiite-majority
city in the last four days to plunge into protest over the sluggish
job market and poor economic conditions afflicting the country.
Hundreds
of Iraqis took
to the streets of the southern city of Amara Sunday, January
11, a day after six Iraqis were killed when British troops and Iraqi
police opened fire on a job rally.
Killing
Admitted
In
another development, a U.S. military commander said Tuesday it was
likely that American forces killed four Iraqi civilians, including a
woman and child, near Tikrit 10 days ago.
"It
is likely that coalition forces were involved given the fact that a
heavy caliber machine gun was used," said Lieutenant Colonel
Steve Russell of the Fourth Infantry Division's 1-22 battalion, which
patrols the northern Iraqi city.
The
U.S. army has said it was investigating the January 3 shooting in
which the four died in a car on a highway near Tikrit, but insisted it
had no reports of any involvement.
A
survivor said his fellow passengers were shot by U.S. troops as their
car tried to overtake a military convoy.
Tikrit
police chief Ussama Adham Abdel Ghaffer told AFP Monday that a U.S.
inquiry supervised by Russell had established that the bullets used in
the shooting were American.
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