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No One Safe on Baghdad's Roads, Iraqis Say
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Jawdat Abd al-KadhUm was not surprised that U.S. troops opened fire at a car carrying a freed Italian hostage to safety. He lost a leg to an American bullet fired from a convoy traveling ahead of him.
The 23-year-old says fear, confusion and misunderstandings on all sides have made roads in Iraq's capital perilous. Now he says he makes sure that any car he is in stops when a U.S. military convoy transporting soldiers or equipment nears.
"There is no safety on the roads. Everyone should expect anything to happen on these roads. Foreigners, Iraqis we are all exposed to the same risks," said al-Kadhum, his left tracksuit trousdr leg tied around the stump of his leg.
"Now if I 3ee an American convoy, I stop until it has gone."
Many have a tale to tell of someone they know that has been shot at, killed or harassed by U.S. forces in convoys or at checkpoints dotted across the country.
Security contractors, whose numbers have risen as relentless and often indiscriminate violence grips Iraq, are accused of being trigger-happy.
But the killing of secret service agent Nicola Calipari, who was instrumental in gaining Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena's release from kidnappers, has underlined what was already known to many -- U.S. checkpoints or convoys should be avoided.
STAY CLEAR
The U.S. military says it cannot discuss the rules of engagement -- procedure for dealing with threats from suicide bombers or car bombs -- due to "operational security issues."
But ex-army officers say cars should be at least 50 meters away from any convoy, never overtake and that if a car speeds toward a checkpoint soldiers will shoot at the engine block to make sure the vehicle comes to a standstill.
They say unnecessary shootings happen when hand signals -- a fist to stay back -- or linguistic misunderstandings take place. Cultural differences can also prompt panic -- driving slowly for an Iraqi is not necessarily the same as for an American.
Al-Kadhum thought he knew the rules.
He was taking his uncle, who suffers from kidney disease, to hospital just miles away from their home in al-Ghazaliyah in west Baghdad. He says they were a safe distance from the convoy.
"I cannot remember the exact distance, but we were first behind the convoy about 500 meters behind," he says. "But then there was an explosion on the convoy and they started shooting. Shooting everywhere."
His car was shot. A bullet went through his knee. He tried to press the hole to stop the bleeding but then lost consciousness.
In hospital, his leg was amputated just above th% knee.
"I believe the Americans were confused when they attacked us. But this confusion causes tragedies," he says, complaining that he cannot find work and has been told he cannot claim compensation before the formation of Iraq's new government.
"But yes I blame them. We were not guilty. What have I done to deserve losing my leg?"
http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=138790
"There is no safety on the roads. Everyone should expect anything to happen on these roads. Foreigners, Iraqis we are all exposed to the same risks," said al-Kadhum, his left tracksuit trousdr leg tied around the stump of his leg.
"Now if I 3ee an American convoy, I stop until it has gone."
Many have a tale to tell of someone they know that has been shot at, killed or harassed by U.S. forces in convoys or at checkpoints dotted across the country.
Security contractors, whose numbers have risen as relentless and often indiscriminate violence grips Iraq, are accused of being trigger-happy.
But the killing of secret service agent Nicola Calipari, who was instrumental in gaining Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena's release from kidnappers, has underlined what was already known to many -- U.S. checkpoints or convoys should be avoided.
STAY CLEAR
The U.S. military says it cannot discuss the rules of engagement -- procedure for dealing with threats from suicide bombers or car bombs -- due to "operational security issues."
But ex-army officers say cars should be at least 50 meters away from any convoy, never overtake and that if a car speeds toward a checkpoint soldiers will shoot at the engine block to make sure the vehicle comes to a standstill.
They say unnecessary shootings happen when hand signals -- a fist to stay back -- or linguistic misunderstandings take place. Cultural differences can also prompt panic -- driving slowly for an Iraqi is not necessarily the same as for an American.
Al-Kadhum thought he knew the rules.
He was taking his uncle, who suffers from kidney disease, to hospital just miles away from their home in al-Ghazaliyah in west Baghdad. He says they were a safe distance from the convoy.
"I cannot remember the exact distance, but we were first behind the convoy about 500 meters behind," he says. "But then there was an explosion on the convoy and they started shooting. Shooting everywhere."
His car was shot. A bullet went through his knee. He tried to press the hole to stop the bleeding but then lost consciousness.
In hospital, his leg was amputated just above th% knee.
"I believe the Americans were confused when they attacked us. But this confusion causes tragedies," he says, complaining that he cannot find work and has been told he cannot claim compensation before the formation of Iraq's new government.
"But yes I blame them. We were not guilty. What have I done to deserve losing my leg?"
http://www.keralanext.com/news/indexread.asp?id=138790
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"I was especially shocked because we thought that by then the danger was past," she told Italy's Rai radio.
Ms Sgrena, who was wounded in the incident, has been sent to a military hospital in Rome for an operation.
She denied US military accounts that the car was speeding past a checkpoint when it was fired upon.
US President George W Bush has pledged to fully investigate the shooting, in which a senior Italian security agent, Nicola Calipari, died.
Ms Sgrena was abducted on 4 February. It is unclear how she was released.
Some Italian press reports say a ransom was paid.
'Terrible thing'
Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, one of President Bush's staunchest allies, has demanded to know why US troops fired on the car carrying Ms Sgrena to safety.
"There was suddenly this shooting, we were hit by a hail of gunfire, and I was speaking with Nicola, who was telling me about what had been happening in Italy in the meantime, when he leaned towards me, probably also to protect me," Ms Sgrena told Rai radio.
"And then he collapsed and I realised that he was dead."
She said the shooting continued "because the driver wasn't even managing to explain that we were Italian".
"So, it was a really terrible thing."
Asked if the car was going too fast when the US troops opened fire, she said: "We weren't going particularly fast given that type of situation."
This is a serious diplomatic incident between the US and Italy, says the BBC's David Willey in Rome.
President Bush has telephoned Mr Berlusconi to offer his condolences and apologies.
He "assured Prime Minister Berlusconi that it would be fully investigated," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
No celebration
The prime minister and other dignitaries joined family members to welcome Ms Sgrena to Rome's Ciampino airport.
Walking slowly and with some help, a tired Ms Sgrena struggled to a waiting ambulance.
Her left-wing newspaper Il Manifesto says a peace rally will be held in Rome later on Saturday.
The death of one of Italy's most senior intelligence officers in the shooting cast a pall of gloom over what should have been a joyous occasion, says our Rome correspondent.
Mr Calipari is being portrayed as a national hero in Saturday's Italian press for his courage in saving Ms Sgrena's life.
A little-known militant group, Islamic Jihad Organisation, had said it kidnapped Giuliana Sgrena and demanded that Italy withdraw its troops from Iraq.
The same group said in September it had killed two Italian aid workers, Simona Torretta and Simona Pari - but they were later released by another organisation.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4321913.stm