Sunday, June 29, 2003
Chit Happens
KEEP YOUR HELMET ON!
The shaky relationship between occupier and occupied came to the fore in a confrontation Sunday morning in Fallujah, a restive town west of Baghdad that's seen a number of attacks on U.S. troops since the Americans shot and killed 20 protesters during a demonstration in April.
A shouting match broke out when an Iraqi civilian, Jamal Shalal Habib al-Mahemdi, accused a U.S. soldier of stealing $600 (U.S.) from his car.
The soldier tried to wave the man on, but, at the behest of bystanders, his superior officer, Sgt. James Phillips, searched his pockets and found the money. Phillips then returned the bills to Mr. al-Mahemdi, who waved them above his head and cursed the soldier.
It was not clear if the soldier, whose name was not immediately available, would be disciplined. Major Sean Gibson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said he had not heard of the incident but was sure it would be investigated.
The incident was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer.
Meanwhile, two American troops were injured and an Iraqi civilian was killed when an explosive device went off alongside a U.S. military convoy on a road leading to Baghdad International Airport, the military said.
In other violence, insurgents on Sunday ambushed a U.S. patrol west of Baghdad using rocket propelled grenades.
One of the grenades struck a Bradley fighting vehicle patrolling near Khaldiyah, 55 kilometres west of Baghdad, but didn't cause any significant damage or injuries. U.S. troops returned fire with 25-mm cannon, but apparently failed to inflict any casualties on the attackers, who ran away.
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The shaky relationship between occupier and occupied came to the fore in a confrontation Sunday morning in Fallujah, a restive town west of Baghdad that's seen a number of attacks on U.S. troops since the Americans shot and killed 20 protesters during a demonstration in April.
A shouting match broke out when an Iraqi civilian, Jamal Shalal Habib al-Mahemdi, accused a U.S. soldier of stealing $600 (U.S.) from his car.
The soldier tried to wave the man on, but, at the behest of bystanders, his superior officer, Sgt. James Phillips, searched his pockets and found the money. Phillips then returned the bills to Mr. al-Mahemdi, who waved them above his head and cursed the soldier.
It was not clear if the soldier, whose name was not immediately available, would be disciplined. Major Sean Gibson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said he had not heard of the incident but was sure it would be investigated.
The incident was witnessed by an Associated Press photographer.
Meanwhile, two American troops were injured and an Iraqi civilian was killed when an explosive device went off alongside a U.S. military convoy on a road leading to Baghdad International Airport, the military said.
In other violence, insurgents on Sunday ambushed a U.S. patrol west of Baghdad using rocket propelled grenades.
One of the grenades struck a Bradley fighting vehicle patrolling near Khaldiyah, 55 kilometres west of Baghdad, but didn't cause any significant damage or injuries. U.S. troops returned fire with 25-mm cannon, but apparently failed to inflict any casualties on the attackers, who ran away.
