That the American troops are not welcomed in Iraq any more is known to all and it is highly suspicious indeed when civilians are reported killed as an aftermath of fighting between insurgents and the US troops in the country. Many cry foul play and accuse the US military of knowingly killing the Iraqi civilians while the American soldiers themselves protest against the accusations.
A similar situation has erupted once more in Iraq. This time the people themselves have come out and accused the US military of attacking their town knowing that only harmless civilians were residing there.
At least 25 Iraqis have been reported killed in a massive ground and air raid launched by the US military on a Shiite town north of Baghdad on Friday. The US force say that their mission was to find an insurgent leader believed to be associated with the elite Iranian Quds Force and working inside Iraq to counter Shiite militia. But the people have a different story altogether.
People in the now almost demolished town say that the Iraqis killed in the attack were not extremists or insurgents but simple, innocent civilians who were trying to protect their own town from the homegrown Sunni militant group Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia. The residents add that these people were actually identified before an attack was launched on them.
It’s murky waters this time too and it’s hard to tell who is right and who is not. The US military has been reported to have been involved in such controversial attacks in the past too but no big prosecution or investigation has been done. This time also the matter would be shelved in the attic and the people who have lost their lives in the attacks would be washed away by the tides of time. The US military force in Iraq has already lost much of its credit and this incident would decimate its worth even more.
Image Source: The Moderate Voice
Source: The New York Times
