Another US Massacre In The ‘Sunni Triangle’

‘54 AMBUSHERS KILLED’ CLAIMS US
First reports were unequivocal: ‘US forces killed 46 Iraqis after a military convoy was ambushed in the town of Samarra last night in the most deadly firefight in the seven months since President Bush declared an end to major combat operations in Iraq.’ (Times, 1 Dec., p. 1)

‘Many of the dead Iraqis wore uniforms of the Fedayeen, a militia loyal to Saddam Hussein, Lieutenant Colonel William MacDonald of the 4th Infantry Division said.’ (Guardian, 1 Dec., p. 1) ‘US officers involved in the battle described the ambushes as well coordinated by up to 80 guerrillas.’ (Guardian, 2 Dec., p. 2) ‘The convoys were carrying new Iraqi banknotes into the town to exchange for Saddam-era cash. American military spokesmen said they knew of no Iraqi civilian casualties, even though they destroyed three buildings with tank rounds.’ (Telegraph, 1 Dec., p. 1)

US officials later said they had killed 54 ‘enemy personnel’ – 22 were said to have been wounded, one captured. (FT, 2 Dec., p. 11) ‘Major Gordon Tate, a spokesman at the headquarters of the 4th Infantry Division in Tikrit, insisted the US military was “confident” about its assessment of the “battle damage”. “Soldiers and commanders on the site counted [the dead],” he told The Independent.’ (Independent, 2 Dec., p. 2)