Who to Believe? You make your mind up...

[Thinkerman]

Accounting for Samerra firefight

Iraq

 

Published: 01-Dec-2003

By: Paul Eedle

 

 

American forces and local Iraqis are giving sharply different accounts of a battle in the city of Samarra, north of Baghdad.

 

 

 

The Americans say two convoys delivering money to banks were ambushed and they killed more than 40 of the attackers.

 

 

Five Americans were wounded. Local people say the death toll was much lower, maybe no more than nine, and most of the casualties were civilians. Meanwhile an American soldier has been shot dead west of Baghdad.

 

 

Much of the shooting took place right in the centre of Samarra, in busy shopping streets next to the sacred Shi'ite Muslim shrine.

 

 

US spokesmen said Iraqi fighters opened fire from alleyways and rooftops with automatic rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. The two convoys of the US 4th Infantry Division shot back with everything they had.

 

 

Captain Depona, US 4th Infantry Division:

 

"We believe they split their force in half as well and they had a well planned attack against each bank site. We think we are looking to between 30 and 40 individuals at each bank site and they had broken themselves down into spot and team size elements so they could attack each bank from all sides."

 

 

The Americans said 46 Iraqis had been killed, some of them wearing the dark clothing and headscarves favoured by fighters of Saddam's Fedayeen, the guerrilla unit which led much of the initial resistance to American and British forces in Iraq.

 

 

But angry local people said the American forces had opened fire at random and several civilians had been killed and injured.

 

 

am Shakir, Samarra pharmaceutical factory

 

"We work for the state pharmaceutical factory in Samarra. We'd just got out of the factory when a shell fell on us. The American forces opened fire randomly on passers-by and at the market."

 

 

They showed journalists a child who had been injured and took cameras to the morgue.

 

 

Iraqi local man:

 

"This is an old Iraqi man and this is an old Iranian pilgrim. What is his crime?"

 

 

Local people doubted that the death toll was anything like as high as the Americans had said. Doctors could confirm no more than eight dead.

 

 

Dr Ali Tawfeeq, Director, Samarra Hospital

 

"We are not afraid of anybody. As for the number of the injured, we do not know the number exactly but they are between 40 and 50. The number of dead at the hospital is seven to eight. Those are only people who were brought to the hospital, but we do not know if there were others outside the hospital."

 

 

It is impossible to say whether the American or the Iraqi version of events is closer to the truth. What we do know for certain is that the city of Samarra hates the American occupation forces.

 

 

Channel 4 News filmed in the streets around the shrine recently - the people were polite to us, but vitriolic about the Americans. A baker runs a shop right opposite the scene of Sunday's shooting. He thinks the Americans are here for only one reason:

 

 

Baker:

 

"They only came for the oil.... "

 

 

The grief in Samarra at these latest deaths will only deepen hatred in this central area of Iraq. People don't necessarily want Saddam Hussein back. But they resent the occupation: the raids, the arrests, the civilians killed and injured when the Americans respond to attacks, and the humiliation of seeing foreigners running their country.

 

 

These feelings translate into support for the guerrillas, who are able to mount ever bolder operations. They are now attacking not just American troops but soldiers and civilian contractors from other countries.

 

 

Men from seven countries were killed in November, the bloodiest month yet for the coalition:

 

 

79 American soldiers

 

 

Italy lost 19 troops in a suicide bombing

 

 

Seven Spanish intelligence agents were shot dead at the weekend

 

 

Japan, South Korea, Poland and Colombia have all suffered casualties.

 

 

The guerrillas are seriously undermining America's strategy of involving allies in Iraq. Both Japan and South Korea say they would stay the course.

 

 

But images of grieving relatives and public protests, as in Tokyo today, show just how costly this commitment may be.

[Liqaye]

Ya i saw that as well.

the police cheif says only 8 people were killed.

The americans say that although it was a very well planned ambush 46 attackers were killed.

I dont see any bodies.

So i am inclined to believe the police cheif.