Baghdad security plan puts US forces, civilians perilously close
The US killed three Iraqi civilians earlier this month, highlighting the risks of American troops taking the fight into neighborhoods.
from the April 24, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 4
In Amel, the running joke among Abdel-Jawad and his friends is that they, the Shiites, live in North Korea while the Sunnis live in Janabi Korea, a pun on the Arabic word for south, which is janoub.
That night, a spokesman for the US military said that soldiers from the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment stationed on the Sunni side of the neighborhood came under attack at the same time indicated by Abdel-Jawad.
After hearing the gunshots and explosions, Abdel-Jawad said that his brother Ahmed, 17, grabbed his AK-47 and rushed out of the house. Many of the neighborhood's male residents had done that in the past when they thought they were being attacked by Sunni militants.
"In a situation like this we must be alert and ready to defend ourselves. It's difficult to rely on the Americans and the Iraqi Army to protect us," Abdel-Jawad said.
Young Ahmed was joined by his neighbor and a friend, Abbas Abdel-Khodr, according to witnesses. Moments later Mr. Abdel-Khoder's mother, Souad, and her other son, Ali, tried to persuade them to come back in, according to Abdel-Jawad.
Meanwhile, US soldiers at the outpost called for helicopters into the area to confront the source of gunfire.
Ahmed and Abdel-Khodr went to the top of an alleyway and fired shots in the air, apparently thinking they might scare away the perceived Sunni attackers.
"Four anticoalition forces were positively identified by attack aviation," said Maj. Kirk Luedeke, spokesman for the 4th Brigade, 1st Infantry Division to which the 1-28 is attached. "The helicopters returned fire at the individuals engaging our troops, killing them after clearly establishing hostile intent."
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