US army snipers kill two men in Iraq market

[Judi Lynn]

US army snipers kill two men in Iraq market
By D'arcy Doran, AP
08 August 2003


US snipers killed two men and wounded two others today in a raid on market in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit, witnesses and military officials said.

The official death toll from yesterday's bombing of the Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad was raised at at least 19.

After initially reporting 11 deaths, the mortuary at a nearby children's hospital where most of the bodies were taken raised the number by six. Two other hopsitals near the embassy Friday reported one death each.

In the Tikrit market, women ran screaming as they heard the shots and saw a man who was unloading AK-47 assault rifles from the trunk of a red sedan fall to the ground, according to a witness who was selling biscuits. (snip/...)

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=431746

[whatelseisnew]

1. Judge, Jury, and Executioner...

What other crimes are punishable by 'the cost of a single bullet'

in Iraq?

[Vitruvius]

2. We fail to establish order, as is the responsibility of the occupying

power, then shoot people who MAY be getting weapons for self-defense. Plus a 10-year-old boy, who was shot in the head and leg.

Yes, some weapons surely have been purchased to shoot at US soldiers, but I'd be willing to bet that many, many of them were purchased for purposes of self-defense. And it is wrong to shoot people who may be looking only to defend themselves against the criminals that WE failed to control.

But Bu$h* & co. won't send enough men to Iraq to establish order -- that would cost MONEY -- and tax cuts for the rich are much more important than the lives of Iraqis or the lives of our soldiers.

Vicious, venal, and incompetent -- that's the Bu$h* way.

-------- -

P.S: Why couldn't we ARREST the weapons seller and ask him some interesting questions -- instead of shooting people in a crowded marketplace? Not enough manpower. We had to use terror tactics -- sniping -- because we didn't have enough men to do POLICING.

[TahitiNut]

4. Where's Charlton Hussein when Iraq needs him?

:eyes:

[spinbaby]

3. I saw this on BBC this morning

The excuse seems to have been that the men were selling wires and timers that could have been used to build bombs.