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Iraq |
Two Frenchmen shot dead in Iraq |
2004-01-08 |
Guerrillas shot and killed two French civilians west of the Iraqi capital, the US military said yesterday. Major-General Charles Swannack, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division responsible for the Falluja area, said the two Frenchmen âstopped on the highway as one of their vehicles was damaged and they were gunned downâ. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said the two worked for US companies involved in reconstruction work in Iraq. In Basra, at least two people were killed yesterday when Iraqi police opened fire on stone-throwing soldiers of the disbanded Iraqi army as they protested to demand payment of salaries. Four people with gunshot wounds were taken to hospital after the incident, witnesses said. Two died of their injuries, doctors said. Hundreds of former soldiers protested in front of three banks after being told their salaries had not been received. They said the last time they were paid was in September, a $150 one-off payment for three monthsâ wages. And in Baquba, residents shouted anti-US slogans as they buried two men they said were shot without provocation by American soldiers as they returned home from a coffee house on Monday evening. |
Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
#1 My condolences to the families. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Herve Ladsous said the two worked for US companies involved in reconstruction work in Iraq. Damn, there goes, what, 5%, 10% of the brave Frenchmen left on the planet? One endangered species I'm definitely worried about. |
Posted by: Ptah 2004-1-8 9:40:42 AM |