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 4 of 4
When the sound of explosions and gunfire quieted, Abdel-Jawad ran out of his home to look for his brother and friends. "It was like huge firecrackers. The earth shook. I went out and saw Ali's body and just the remains of his mother. I was sick. I could not take it. I went back home."
Later, Abdel-Jawad and other residents of Amel said US and Iraqi forces came into the area and picked up the three bodies and Ahmed, who was badly wounded.
The next morning, Abdel-Jawad went to an Iraqi Army outpost in the area manned by a Kurdish unit to inquire about the fate of his brother. "The first thing they asked me was whether I was Sunni or Shiite. I was shocked," said Abdel-Jawad.
"When I told them Shiite, they said 'check with the Americans.' When I kept insisting, they said 'Leave or we will arrest you.' "
Abdel-Jawad and his family were only able to find out one week later from the US military that Ahmed was still alive and that he was being held now at a maximum-security detention facility in Baghdad.
• Awadh al-Taiee contributed reporting.
RSS feed
