US troops in the Iraqi town of Samarra have admitted to perpetrating a bloodbath, with one occupation spokesman confirming nearly four dozen people were killed.
| And God knows how many puppies, kittens, and baby ducks... |
Lieutenant Colonel Bill MacDonald told journalists on Sunday that all the 46 were killed when troops fought off multiple attacks on military convoys. But local residents said US troops killed innocent bystanders when they opened fire on anything that moved around midday.
| "Yar! Kill anything that moves! Ferguson! You missed that puppy, dammit!" |
Workers at a nearby pharmaceutical plant said at least two colleagues were killed and many wounded as they walked out of the factory gates at the end of their shift, downed by a US tank shooting randomly in all directions. At 13:45, just as staff at the State Enterprise for the Manufacture of Drugs and medical Equipment finished their shift, a second tank arrived and opened up with machine guns, employees said.
One French journalist also reports seeing blood spattered on the ground and bullet holes in the sentry box to the left of the white factory gates. US-led occupation forces and residents alike spoke of multiple attacks in the central Iraqi city that was once home to Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri, Saddam Hussein's deputy and the alleged paymaster of many attacks against occupation forces. MacDonald said US troops also destroyed three buildings used in the attacks and notably fired tank shells against the attackers, who were allegedly wearing the black uniforms of former government Fidayin fighters.
| Keeps their street clothes from getting all dusty in the plant, y'see... |
Five US troops and a civilian in their convoy were also wounded, two of them lightly, according to the spokesman for the 4th Infantry Division which patrols the town regularly. MacDonald said two convoys were driving into Samarra when they were attacked. "The attackers fired rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons at the convoy from rooftops of buildings and from the alleyways," said MacDonald, adding that mortars and improvised bombs also were used against the US soldiers.
| No dopubt they were throwing phramaceuticals, too... |
"At each location, soldiers from the 1st Battalion 66th Armour and military police returned fire with small arms, 120mm tank rounds and 25mm cannon fired from Bradley vehicles," the spokesman said. In a third attack, another US military convoy came under small arms fire attack from four men travelling in a car. The soldiers returned fire wounding all four and capturing them, said MacDonald, speaking to journalists at the division's headquarters in Tikrit. |