U.S. and Iraqi Military Bust Into Shiite Slum, Capture 7, Air Cover Kills 3 Including Boy

second child reported killed by our forces in 2 days, with 3 other civilians and an infant slaughtered from the air in Baghdad yesterday

U.S., Iraqi forces grab militiamen in sweep of Sadr City

BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. and Iraqi forces backed by helicopters swept into Baghdad's Sadr City Shiite slum in a dark-of-night raid Tuesday that netted seven militiamen, including one believed to know the whereabouts of an American soldier kidnapped nearly a month ago.

Angry Shiites denounced the raid, and a lawmaker from the district stood outside the Imam Ali hospital holding the body of a boy killed in the attack and vowing he would not return to parliament until all American forces were out of Iraq.

Police said three Iraqis, including the boy, were killed and 15 wounded. No soldiers were hurt, the military said.

American forces had sealed the district for several days looking for kidnapped U.S. soldier Ahmed Qusai al-Taayie, a 41-year-old reservist from Ann Arbor, Mich. He was visiting his Iraqi wife in Baghdad on Oct. 23 when he was handcuffed and abducted by suspected rogue gunmen from the Mahdi Army, a militia loyal to radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

The U.S. command said Iraqi forces came under fire during the raid, and that U.S. aircraft returned fire.

The operation "detained an illegal armed group kidnapping and murder cell leader . . . reported to have firsthand knowledge of the control and movement" of al-Taayie, the military said, adding that six other cell members also were detained.

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/16069884.htm


I guess we'll have to wait and see whether they're just blowing smoke about what the captured Iraqis actually know about the kidnapped soldier . . . after they're finished torturing them



http://journals.democraticunderground.com/bigtree

I am not sure how long I could put up with that.

Don

...and the unintended deaths of civilians are worth it, as they have since the occupation began.

:sarcasm: