US troops mistakenly kill four Iraqi firemen

[Barrett808]

BAGHDAD (AFP) - American soldiers shot and killed four Iraqi firemen after mistaking their fire tender for one hijacked by insurgents, US military headquarters has said.

"After receiving word that a fire truck and its crew were just hijacked, coalition forces pulled over a fire truck matching that description," said a statement describing Monday's incident in the western city of Fallujah.

When the unarmed firefighters got out of the fire tender US soldiers opened fire and killed them, after mistaking them for armed insurgents.

"The suspected insurgents were in fact firefighters responding to a call. The fire truck number did not match the one of the hijacked truck. All four of the firefighters that exited the vehicle died," the statement said.

"Minutes later another fire truck was spotted and pulled over in an area nearby. The occupants fled. It was determined that this truck number did match the truck that was hijacked," it added.

(more)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061024/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestusfiremen

[Double T]

1. 'WE' have got to get out of Iraq!! Our presence isn't doing ANYTHING GOOD!!!

[saigon68]

19. All Islamics look alike

Lets Kill Them

</sarcasm>

[Bonobo]

2. Why do you hate America?

[wageslave71]

21. They hate us for our freedom...

freedom to shoot whoever we please. Sometimes, we throw in a gang rape prior to the shooting. And what thanks do we get?

[uncle ray]

3. imagine the outrage if some NYPD

had shot 4 NYFD. it would be the biggest story since 9/11. but in Iraq, well mistakes happen, oh well, whatcha gonna do?

[cwydro]

4. oh wow

just keeps getting better, ya know..?

[Megahurtz]

5. Fucking Brilliant!!!!

x( Get the fuck out of there now before anyone else gets killed!!!:banghead:
Call it "cut and run", call it whatever you like just get the fuck OUT OF IRAQ NOW!!!:argh:

[zreosumgame]

6. wrong truck, unarmed men cooperating...and they are murdered

yup, yup the very model of 'freedom' dumbaya wants for us here too...

[saigon68]

7. "STAY THE COURSE" shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

[Sugar Smack]

8. Some say we're "nearing" chaos.

:banghead:

[blm]

9. Will Reid PLEASE resubmit the Iraq withdrawal plan NOW?

.

[stanwyck]

10. This incident truly embodies

the full out screaming insanity of what we're facing in Iraq. There is no army to fight - no enemy in uniforms. No opposing air force or navy. Just "insurgents" or "terrorists" who can't be identified and who may have been on your side just yesterday as a policeman or an interpreter.
Yet, our troops are supposed to protect the Iraqis we've precariously positioned as leaders -- knowing that they may actually be organizing against us -- while magically deciphering which Shiite faction is U.S. friendly and which Shiite faction is warring against another Shiite faction and if you get caught in the middle, you'll die. And, then there's the Sunis...
Oh, you've got a split second to sort this out. Hope you make the right decision and don't kill innocent people.
Screaming insanity being propagated by a guy who didn't have the fortitude for Guard service and his loyal henchman VP who collected a record number of deferments.
Halliburton be damned. Let them hire their own private "security" force - they've got the billions (taxpayer billions) to buy their own militias. Get our troops out and let Halliburton and the other tribes fight until the finish over the power and the oil.
And send Kristol, Perle, Wolfowitz, and all the other yellow-bellied neocon cowards over there to help. They wanted their own "Pearl Harbor". They got it.

[Amonester]

11. Any "10 seconds-short" mention of this on any "Nightly News"

'new' entertainment 'shows' anywhere??

No way: everything is (or rather: 'has to be') rosy...

"American forces are often accused of using excessive and indiscriminate force in
Iraq, although commanders say the problem is now taken more seriously and the number of wrongful killings has diminished."

Now: there sure is a way to verify the truth in this (other) 'jewel' of 'Republican' disinformation, right? Yeah... Like the r-w 'journalists' really care about 'counting' bodies... :mad:

[JoMama49]

12. Will there be any security or first responders left to turn the

country over to? Not unless we get out soon and stop offing them!

[gratuitous]

13. They couldn't verify the tender number?

My rheumy old eyes can still pick out a license plate number on a passing car; our troops can't read the number on the side of a tender truck they've pulled over?

I don't know what will happen in Iraq when our troops are taken out (if that ever happens), but it's hard to imagine what could be worse than what's happening there on a daily basis.

[HuffleClaw]

14. trigger-happy fools

what idiots.

[Make7]

15. Why don't we hear more stories about firefighters that aren't gunned down?

The press only reports when something bad happens. Where are all the positive stories about firefighters actually putting out fires and saving lives?

- Make7

[High Plains]

16. Sounds like another case of murder to me. Bring on the courts martial.

[az chela]

17. So they shoot unarmed men without even finding out who

they were???
So now our troops are just turning into underpaid killers
End the war ,bring the troops home now!!!!
NO more bloodshed
PEACE NOW

[Nihil]

20. "Just" turning into?

If you look at the Iraqi casualty figures, you'll soon realise
that there is no "just" about it.

[Anakin Skywalker]

18. Importing Freedom Fries the World Over, Baby!

McFreedom today, McFreedom tomorrow, McFreedom forever!

[GliderGuider]

22. Hey, it was an honest mistake! One of them yelled "FIRE!"

Way to go, boys. Those four may not have been insurgents, but all their brothers and cousins are now.