A U.S. Apache gunship flies over
a burning Black Hawk helicopter, right, in Tikrit, 193 km (120 miles)
north of Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2003. The U.S. Army helicopter
was shot down Saturday by ground fire near Tikrit, a center of Iraq's
anti-U.S. insurgency, witnesses said. One person was reported
injured. |
Also, near the flashpoint city of Fallujah, three
civilians were killed and two wounded when their convoy came under fire. An
American engineer and an Iraqi security guard said U.S. troops shot at their
vehicles, but the military denied that.
Amid the ongoing violence, U.S military officials prepared for the holy
fasting month of Ramadan, which begins in Iraq on Monday. For weeks, chaplains
have been training troops to be sensitive to Muslim religious traditions.
On Saturday, U.S. forces reopened a major bridge over the Tigris River to
ease transportation in the capital, Baghdad. An American military brass band
with a tuba played as the bridge was inaugurated.
In the incident near Fallujah, three SUVs of the European Landmine Solutions,
a British-based private contractor, were hit by gunfire, according to an
American engineer with the firm, David Rasmussen, who was hospitalized with
wounds.
Asked where the shots came from, Rasmussen replied: "from the USA."
The Iraqi security guard traveling with the convoy, Laith Yousef, gave the
same account.
"We were the target of an attack by the Americans," Yousef said. "They shot
at our car. The translator burned to death in the car. A man with us was killed.
He was going to get married next week."
A U.S. command spokesman in Baghdad denied troops fired at the convoy, saying
that, instead, coalition forces went to the secure the area after the attack and
evacuated the wounded.
"According to my information, it's impossible they were attacked by U.S.
forces," he said. "They weren't close enough to either cause or prevent this
attack."
Lt. Col. Charles Hardy, spokesman for the 82nd Airborne Division, which is
responsible for the area, said the civilian convoy turned around after a bomb
exploded ahead of it, and then was hit by another improvised bomb,
rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire.
"U.S. forces arrived after the attack and treated the wounded," he said.
"This was not initiated by our forces."
Also near Fallujah, Iraqi civilians reported a roadside bombing Saturday
night in the town of Khaldiyah. They said several U.S. soldiers appeared to have
been wounded; the U.S. command had no immediate information.
The Black Hawk came down at about 4 p.m. in a field near Saddam Hussein's
hometown of Tikrit. Both it and Fallujah lie inside the "Sunni Triangle," which
sees multiple attacks every day against U.S. forces. The region, in central Iraq
north of Baghdad, is where the ousted dictator drew his strongest support; his
loyalists are now believed to be leading resistance to the U.S.-led occupation.
A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
said the helicopter landed for undetermined reasons. He said the Black Hawk ¡ª
aircraft that usually carry a crew of three ¡ª was supporting a combat patrol.
A preliminary report by U.S. soldiers, however, said the copter was
apparently downed by ground fire, possibly by an RPG. U.S. officials have been
warning that thousands of shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles remain
unaccounted for after the fall of Saddam's regime and pose a threat to U.S.
military aircraft.
Witnesses said they heard a loud explosion as two helicopters flew low
overhead. Suddenly, one of the aircraft began swaying from side to side and came
down about a mile away.
Only one U.S. helicopter has been confirmed shot down by hostile fire since
President Bush declared an end to major combat in Iraq on May 1. A U.S. Army
Apache attack helicopter was shot down June 12 by hostile fire in western Iraq.
The craft's two crewmembers were rescued unhurt.
Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, on a three-day tour of Iraq, was
in Tikrit earlier Saturday visiting a U.S. garrison. He left the city hours
before the helicopter came down and was in the northern city of Kirkuk, U.S.
officials said.
Before leaving Tikrit, Wolfowitz, who arrived Friday, told commanders he was
hopeful American troops would get more money to train Iraqis to assume a greater
role in security as they fight resistance forces.
"These young Iraqis are stepping forward to fight for their country along
with us," Wolfowitz said. "It is a wonderful success story that speaks volumes."
Iraqis who work with coalition forces have been frequently targeted by
insurgents opposed to the U.S. occupation. On Saturday, officials said the
coalition-backed police chief of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah was shot to
death.
Brig. Hamid Hadi Hassan al-Abe was leaving the al-Hussein mosque after Friday
prayers when he was gunned down by assailants firing from several locations,
police Maj. Kathim Mohsen Hamadi said. The attackers escaped.
Amarah is populated primarily by Shiite Muslims, who have been generally more
accepting of the occupation because of their suffering under former
Sunni-dominated regime. However, Hamadi said Iraqis who work closely with the
coalition are often considered traitors.
Also Saturday, the commander of allied forces in Iraq said Saturday the
country's security problems were "manageable."
"All these security problems are in our view manageable and with the growing
help of Iraqis will be dealt with effectively," said Gen. John Abizaid, head of
the U.S. Central Command.
In the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the Foreign Ministry said it had asked its
diplomatic staff to leave Baghdad and move to Amman, citing "the current
priorities of our diplomatic mission." The Bulgarian newspaper Trud said the
decision was taken because of threats of terrorist attacks.
The newspaper said the 50 Bulgarian citizens in Baghdad had been advised to
leave, too. Bulgaria has about 480 troops in Iraq as part of the U.S.-led
mission.
Meanwhile, in preparation for Ramadan, coalition officials moved to ease
conditions for Baghdad's 5 million people by abolishing the nighttime curfew in
effect since the fall of the city in April and reopening the Tigris bridge.
The Islamic month of fasting begins with the sighting of a new moon and lasts
for four weeks. Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex during the day,
but evenings are marked by lavish meals and social gatherings lasting far into
the night.
"The curfew can be lifted due to the reduction in the crime rate in the city
and the overall improvement in the security situation," the U.S.-appointed
Baghdad city council statement said. "Despite some highly publicized attacks by
terrorists and supporters of the former regime, the overall security situation
in Baghdad has improved."
Most Iraqi cities no longer have a curfew.
