Friendly Fire Casualties in Iraq
In a recent incident, US troops killed 6 Iraqi Security Force troops and wounded 10 others in a friendly fire incident. The Iraqi forces shot warning shots into the air as US troops approached by boat. The US mistook the Iraqis for al-Qaeda operatives and opened fire.
This is another bad turn for US-Iraqi relations and increases calls for US troops to phase out of operations. While this incident was part of a greater offensive mission, such errors increase the strain on the military relationship.
Dennis Gallagher
October 9th, 2008 at 9:40 am
Why would the Iraqi security forces fire “warning” shots at the obviously American troops? American Rules of Engagement declare that shots fired at American’s institute imminent threat and return fire is appropriate. You don’t fire at American’s and expect to walk away unharmed. The Iraqi’s are at fault on this one. This was clearly not a friendly fire incident. The Iraqi’s initiated conflict and American’s responded as they should.