Mortar kills Iraqi girl at school (Baghdad)

[leftchick]

http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=13056

BAGHDAD - A mortar killed an Iraqi girl and wounded another child at a primary school in western Baghdad on Wednesday, medical sources said.


The mortar fell on the al-Junainah school in the Amariyah district, killing an 11-year-old girl and also wounding a 13-year-old female student, a hospital worker at Yarmuk hospital said.


"The mortar hit at 11:00 am (0800 GMT), and no US or Iraqi forces were there," another hospital official said.


Amariyah, long considered sympathetic to the insurgency due to its location on the edge of western Baghdad, is not far from Baghdad international airport, which houses Camp Victory, the US military's command centre for Iraq.

[TahitiNut]

1. "no US or Iraqi forces were there"

Therefore, it was obviously a free-fire zone. Odds are it was a U.S. mortar. Just another "Oops!"??

[leftchick]

4. that was my thought as well...

They sure did make it to the scene quickly. And no mention of "enemy fire". :eyes:




A U.S. Army soldier photographs the damage after a mortar shell or rocket landed on a primary school in western Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Wednesday, March 23, 2005, killing at least one child and injuring three others, according to a police official. Children fled the schoolhouse, abandoning backpacks and books on their desks.(AP Photo/Khalid Mohammed)

[TahitiNut]

6. The mere fact they're photographing the damage would indicate ...

... U.S. culpability, imho. We sure didn't run around photographing mortar hits in Vietnam ... unless it was an "Oops!"

[leftchick]

7. The Dead child.. *Warning Graphic*

I wish I knew what the folks around her are saying... poor baby. :(



Neighbors gather around the body of Ban Abbas, 12, at al-Yarmouk Hospital in Baghdad, Iraq (news - web sites), Wednesday, March 23, 2005. The girl was killed when a mortar shell or rocket landed on a primary school in western Baghdad Wednesday, also injuring three other children, according to a police official. (AP Photo/Mohammed Uraibi)

[_TJ_]

2. That's just lovely

:(

[expatriot]

3. Another PR coup for the insurgents! They're as bad as we are at the battle

for the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people.

[leftchick]

5. don't assume the mortar was from the "insurgents"

I know I am not.