Sayf_eDeen
27-04-03, 00:37
At least a dozen Iraqi civilians were killed yesterday when a US held arms dump blew up on the outskirts of Baghdad, sending rockets flying into houses over a wide area and sparking a string of further explosions.
Shrapnel, live ammunition and unexploded rockets were strewn far and wide. Officials at the main hospital in the mixed residential and industrial Zaafaraniyah district said at least 12 people had been killed and 40 injured. But this was disputed by US Central Command, which claimed that only six had died.
There were also conflicting claims over the cause of the blast, which the US military blamed on unidentified attackers who fired a flare or incendiary device into the old Iraqi arms store. The cache of weapons included Russian-made Frog-7 missiles and Iraq's own al-Samoud IIs. There were 80 missiles in all.
Local residents blamed US forces, who they said had been bringing confiscated Iraqi weapons to the site, packing them into cars and detonating them there over the past three days.
Some turned their anger on the Americans, shooting and forcing them back from the scene for a while.
'This is the safety that Bush promised us?' demanded Munthir Safir, the blood of members of his family dried on the cloth of his white kaftan. Around him, wailing women collapsed over the coffins of two adults and four teenagers.
Following the initial blasts, which began at about 8am local time, anti-American protests started in the stricken neighbourhood and in the city centre.
'No Saddam! No Bush! Yes to Islam!' fist-waving men shouted, pouring out condemnation of America. Among the slogans were two in English: 'Stop explosions near civilians' and 'The terror after war'.
Hours later, smoke was still billowing out from the blackened crater left at the missile cache. Explosives boomed, a rocket whistled and rounds popped. One unexploded missile protruded from a lawn. US forces promised to send removal experts.
Zaafaraniya hospital spokesman Khazum Jasim said five of the victims who either arrived at the hospital dead or died during treatment were children.
The head doctor at the hospital, Shaker Nasser, said other hospitals in the capital were also taking casualties.
Local resident Tamir Kalaal said 14 of his relatives, including his father, brother and wife, were killed when a rocket destroyed his home. 'I am the only one that survived. All I have left is her,' he said, sobbing and pointing to his one-month-old daughter. 'Those Americans did this,' he said, shaking a finger in anger.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch a bulldozer shift the rubble of four houses at the site where Kalaal's family was killed. Mattresses, clothes and sheets were strewn among mangled metal bars and blocks of concrete.
In Doha, Qatar, US Central Command spokesman Lt Mark Kitchens placed blame squarely on what he described as 'the despicable people' who allegedly fired the flares into the dump.
'This is not just an attempt to disrupt the process of peace. It's a crime against the Iraqi people,' Kitchens said. Central Command added that the fact the ammunition dump was sited near a residential area illustrated the former regime's disregard for the safety of civilians.
In Zaafaraniyah, residents described days of what appeared to be controlled blasts by American soldiers at the dump, apparently to destroy the leftover Iraqi weaponry.
US Army Captain Patrick Sullivan said his engineering unit had been at the dump for a week, but claimed: 'During that time we have not destroyed any ammunition'.
Whatever the precise cause of the explosions may prove to be, they are sure to further complicate US efforts to win Iraqi hearts and minds after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.
Shrapnel, live ammunition and unexploded rockets were strewn far and wide. Officials at the main hospital in the mixed residential and industrial Zaafaraniyah district said at least 12 people had been killed and 40 injured. But this was disputed by US Central Command, which claimed that only six had died.
There were also conflicting claims over the cause of the blast, which the US military blamed on unidentified attackers who fired a flare or incendiary device into the old Iraqi arms store. The cache of weapons included Russian-made Frog-7 missiles and Iraq's own al-Samoud IIs. There were 80 missiles in all.
Local residents blamed US forces, who they said had been bringing confiscated Iraqi weapons to the site, packing them into cars and detonating them there over the past three days.
Some turned their anger on the Americans, shooting and forcing them back from the scene for a while.
'This is the safety that Bush promised us?' demanded Munthir Safir, the blood of members of his family dried on the cloth of his white kaftan. Around him, wailing women collapsed over the coffins of two adults and four teenagers.
Following the initial blasts, which began at about 8am local time, anti-American protests started in the stricken neighbourhood and in the city centre.
'No Saddam! No Bush! Yes to Islam!' fist-waving men shouted, pouring out condemnation of America. Among the slogans were two in English: 'Stop explosions near civilians' and 'The terror after war'.
Hours later, smoke was still billowing out from the blackened crater left at the missile cache. Explosives boomed, a rocket whistled and rounds popped. One unexploded missile protruded from a lawn. US forces promised to send removal experts.
Zaafaraniya hospital spokesman Khazum Jasim said five of the victims who either arrived at the hospital dead or died during treatment were children.
The head doctor at the hospital, Shaker Nasser, said other hospitals in the capital were also taking casualties.
Local resident Tamir Kalaal said 14 of his relatives, including his father, brother and wife, were killed when a rocket destroyed his home. 'I am the only one that survived. All I have left is her,' he said, sobbing and pointing to his one-month-old daughter. 'Those Americans did this,' he said, shaking a finger in anger.
Hundreds of people gathered to watch a bulldozer shift the rubble of four houses at the site where Kalaal's family was killed. Mattresses, clothes and sheets were strewn among mangled metal bars and blocks of concrete.
In Doha, Qatar, US Central Command spokesman Lt Mark Kitchens placed blame squarely on what he described as 'the despicable people' who allegedly fired the flares into the dump.
'This is not just an attempt to disrupt the process of peace. It's a crime against the Iraqi people,' Kitchens said. Central Command added that the fact the ammunition dump was sited near a residential area illustrated the former regime's disregard for the safety of civilians.
In Zaafaraniyah, residents described days of what appeared to be controlled blasts by American soldiers at the dump, apparently to destroy the leftover Iraqi weaponry.
US Army Captain Patrick Sullivan said his engineering unit had been at the dump for a week, but claimed: 'During that time we have not destroyed any ammunition'.
Whatever the precise cause of the explosions may prove to be, they are sure to further complicate US efforts to win Iraqi hearts and minds after the US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein.