Highways Marked by Tension and Risk (from trigger-happy US forces)

Highways Marked by Tension and Risk
Fri Jan 16,10:22 AM ET
By Patrick J. McDonnell, Times Staff Writer

TIKRIT, Iraq — Intisar Kadhum tried to shield her son Ahmed, cradling the 7-year-old in her arms as they rode in the rear seat of a taxi.

Her maternal instincts could not spare either of them from the fury of a machine gun unleashed on the Chevrolet Caprice as it navigated a stretch of highway Jan. 3. Mother and son, along with the driver and another passenger, were killed, their sedan riddled with more than three dozen bullets.

Civilians die almost daily in Iraq at the hands of assorted gunmen and bombers, few of whom are identified or caught. But in this case, evidence suggests that the shooting was by a U.S. soldier in a military convoy. The U.S. Army is investigating allegations that the soldier fired without provocation.

The incident has served to underscore the tensions on Iraq's heavily trafficked roads, which are lined with convoys rumbling back and forth with troops and materiel. The convoys vary from two or three Humvees to mile-long processions of assorted vehicles, including tanks and 28-wheel tractor-trailers.

Passing the slow-moving convoys can be risky business. In a country where roadside ambushes and bombings cause U.S. casualties virtually every day, soldiers are wary that approaching vehicles might be carrying attackers.

Often, civilian drivers attempt hand signals or eye contact with U.S. personnel to ascertain when it's safe to pass. But a false move can mean death.

(more)

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