lennart
12-11-03, 16:44
U.S. Forces Fire at Iraqi Official's Car, Hit Driver
Wed November 12, 2003 09:59 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces fired at the car of an Iraqi Governing Council member on Wednesday, wounding his driver in the foot, a council statement said.
The statement said Mohammad Bahr al-Uloum, an independent Shi'ite Muslim cleric, was not hurt when U.S. forces mistook his car for a stolen vehicle while he was being driven across a Tigris river bridge in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
"A U.S. forces spokesman apologized to Mr Bahr al-Uloum and to the Governing Council, and said that an investigation was ongoing," the statement said.
Bahr al-Uloum, an elderly scholar who returned from exile in London and assumed a seat on the U.S.-appointed council, has been a critic of U.S. policy in Iraq, saying Iraqis should assume a larger security role.
Earlier this week, U.S forces shot and killed the mayor of Sadr City, a poor Shi'ite suburb of Baghdad, saying he had refused to stop for a security check and tried to wrestle a gun away from a soldier.
U.S. troops in September opened fire on a car carrying an Italian diplomat who holds a senior position in the U.S.-led administration, killing his driver. The diplomat was not hurt.
© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.
Wed November 12, 2003 09:59 AM ET
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. forces fired at the car of an Iraqi Governing Council member on Wednesday, wounding his driver in the foot, a council statement said.
The statement said Mohammad Bahr al-Uloum, an independent Shi'ite Muslim cleric, was not hurt when U.S. forces mistook his car for a stolen vehicle while he was being driven across a Tigris river bridge in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.
"A U.S. forces spokesman apologized to Mr Bahr al-Uloum and to the Governing Council, and said that an investigation was ongoing," the statement said.
Bahr al-Uloum, an elderly scholar who returned from exile in London and assumed a seat on the U.S.-appointed council, has been a critic of U.S. policy in Iraq, saying Iraqis should assume a larger security role.
Earlier this week, U.S forces shot and killed the mayor of Sadr City, a poor Shi'ite suburb of Baghdad, saying he had refused to stop for a security check and tried to wrestle a gun away from a soldier.
U.S. troops in September opened fire on a car carrying an Italian diplomat who holds a senior position in the U.S.-led administration, killing his driver. The diplomat was not hurt.
© Reuters 2003. All Rights Reserved.