Thursday, August 18, 2005

Whatever perspective it takes

Eric Urmansky notices a slight difference in reporting:

From Agence-France Presse:

A group of Iraqi workers in Baghdad came under fire from US troops who mistook them for insurgents.

An interior ministry source said US troops fired on a crowd of workers in the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Alawi, while a defence ministry source reported an exchange of fire between suspected rebels and US forces in the area.

But a number of casualties lying in Al-Yarmouk hospital told AFP that a US helicopter fired at them as they were gathered outside a hotel.

"The electricity went out at around 0500 (0100 GMT), so we exited the hotel to the street to have breakfast in the fresh air. A helicopter then opened fire into the street," said Ali Mohammad, who sustained neck and leg injuries.

From the NYT:

The American military also said today that some Iraqi civilians were killed or wounded when American forces attacked suspected insurgents from the air in Baghdad early Tuesday. In the battle, American helicopters "tracked and engaged the terrorists," the military said in a statement. There was an unknown number of civilian casualties, and an investigation has begun into the incident, the military said.

No comments: