Two Die In Sectarian Iraqi Army Clash
Washington Post
May 13, 2006
BAGHDAD -- An armed confrontation between two Iraqi army units left one soldier and one civilian dead Friday, raising questions about the U.S.-trained force's ability to maintain control at a time when sectarian and ethnic tensions are running high.
The incident near Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, illustrates the command and control problems facing the new Iraqi army, which the United States hopes can take over security in most of the country by year's end. It also shows that divisions within the military mirror those in Iraqi society.
The trouble started when a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army convoy, which police said was made up of Kurdish soldiers. Four soldiers were killed and three wounded, police said. U.S. military officials put the figures at one dead and 12 wounded.
The wounded were rushed to civilian Balad Hospital. Police said that as the Kurdish soldiers drove to the hospital, they fired weapons to clear the way, and one Iraqi Shiite civilian was killed.
Shiite soldiers from another Iraqi unit based in Balad rushed to the scene, and the Kurds decided to take their wounded elsewhere, Iraqi police said. Iraqi troops tried to stop them and shots were fired, killing one Shiite soldier, Iraqi police said.
A third Iraqi army unit set up a roadblock in the area and stopped the soldiers who were leaving with their wounded, the U.S. military said. American troops intervened and calmed the situation.
The Iraqi army is investigating the incident.
May 13, 2006
BAGHDAD -- An armed confrontation between two Iraqi army units left one soldier and one civilian dead Friday, raising questions about the U.S.-trained force's ability to maintain control at a time when sectarian and ethnic tensions are running high.
The incident near Duluiyah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad, illustrates the command and control problems facing the new Iraqi army, which the United States hopes can take over security in most of the country by year's end. It also shows that divisions within the military mirror those in Iraqi society.
The trouble started when a roadside bomb struck an Iraqi army convoy, which police said was made up of Kurdish soldiers. Four soldiers were killed and three wounded, police said. U.S. military officials put the figures at one dead and 12 wounded.
The wounded were rushed to civilian Balad Hospital. Police said that as the Kurdish soldiers drove to the hospital, they fired weapons to clear the way, and one Iraqi Shiite civilian was killed.
Shiite soldiers from another Iraqi unit based in Balad rushed to the scene, and the Kurds decided to take their wounded elsewhere, Iraqi police said. Iraqi troops tried to stop them and shots were fired, killing one Shiite soldier, Iraqi police said.
A third Iraqi army unit set up a roadblock in the area and stopped the soldiers who were leaving with their wounded, the U.S. military said. American troops intervened and calmed the situation.
The Iraqi army is investigating the incident.
posted by Hanan Elbadry at 7:15 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home