US ruling on deaths in Iraq town pressures PM

Baghdad, June 3: A military probe that cleared US troops of killing civilians in the Iraqi town of Ishaqi could not have come at a worse time for the new prime minister, who has promised justice for those killed at Haditha.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is battling a widespread public perception that US troops can shoot and kill with impunity and Iraqi leaders are too weak to do anything about it.

Allegations that US Marines massacred some 24 civilians in the town of Haditha and the finding that troops did no wrong in Ishaqi do not help Maliki allay Iraqi suspicions.

Maliki talked tough again earlier yesterday as he stood beside American ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad during a visit to a new power plant, saying he would demand the United States hand over the files into the investigation of Haditha.

''We have not received the results of the investigation so that we can judge whether it is a fair one or not,'' Maliki said.

''We will work so that this investigation is fair to bring justice for the victims of this catastrophe.'' But the U.S. military concluded there was no need to prosecute those involved in the killings in Ishaqi.

The U.S. military said troops were fired on as they raided a house in March to arrest an al Qaeda suspect. They returned fire and called in air support which destroyed the building, killing one militant and resulting in ''up to nine collateral deaths''.

Iraqi police in Ishaqi, offered a different account. They said five children, four women and two men were shot dead by troops in a house that was then blown up.

Police said all the victims were shot in the head, and that the bodies, with hands bound, were dumped in one room before the house was destroyed. Television footage showed the bodies in a morgue. Their wounds were not clear, although one infant had a gaping head wound.

Ibrahim Khalaf told Reuters on Friday that U.S. troops attacked his brother Faez's house before raiding his in Ishaqi.

''They started shooting in the air before entering the house.

This process lasted for about 20 minutes and after that they entered the house and started shooting inside it,'' he told Reuters Television.

''After that, they raided my house, binding my hands and blindfolding me. They gathered my family members in one room.

One of the soldiers told them (his colleagues) to kill them (my family) all. But thank God they did not.'' ''This kind of thing is normal,'' said security guard Abu Fatima, after hearing the news on Ishaqi. ''U.S. troops can kill Iraqi civilians very easily.'' As Maliki toured the U.S.-built power plant, workers said they were encouraged because he was taking a public stand on Haditha and three or four other cases under investigation. But they said his hands were tied.

''What can he do, kick out U.S. troops? We know the country would blow up,'' said Nabil Fatih.

REUTERS

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