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thedrifter
07-01-05, 05:04 PM
Marines 'gun down unarmed civilian'
From correspondents at the United Nations
The Australian
02jul05

IRAQ'S UN ambassador today accused US marines of firing at and killing his cousin in cold blood during a house raid near the western town of Haditha on June 25.

Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie, a supporter of the United States, said Mohammed al-Sumaidaie, the son of his first cousin, was shot by marines during a raid at his father's house in the village of Al-Shaikh Hadid, near a US military base at the Haditha Dam.
"All indications point to a killing of an unarmed innocent civilian - a cold-blooded murder," Mr Sumaidaie said.

He called for an investigation into the killing, saying outrage over the incident could jeopardise public support for the US-led reconstruction of Iraq.

The US military said in a statement from Iraq that the events described in the allegations "roughly correspond to an incident involving coalition forces on that day in that general location".

"We take these allegations seriously and will thoroughly investigate this incident to determine what happened," said Major General Stephen T Johnson.

Ellie

thedrifter
07-02-05, 05:39 AM
US promises inquiry into killing of UN ambassador's cousin
Baghdad | Agencies | 02/07/2005

A US military commander has promised an investigation into the killing of the 21-year-old cousin of Iraq’s UN ambassador - who says US marines killed the unarmed young man in “cold blood.”
"The events described in the allegations roughly correspond to an incident involving coalition forces on that day in that general location; therefore a military inquiry has been initiated to review the circumstances and the facts surrounding the incident," a US military statement said.

In an email logging the strong complaint to colleagues in New York, Iraq’s UN ambassador Samir Sumaidaie said Marines killed his first cousin's son, Mohammed Al Sumaidaie, an engineering student, during a June 25 raid of his home in Al Shaikh Hadid in the Anbar province.

"A serious crime has been committed," the ambassador wrote in the email, "All indications point to a killing of an unarmed innocent civilian - a cold-blooded murder."

Mohammed Al Sumaidaie was at his father's house with his mother and other relatives on June 25 when Marines knocked at the door at about 10 am local time, the ambassador said, quoting the young man's mother.

Accompanied by an interpreter, the Marines asked Al Sumaidaie if there were weapons in the house.

He then went to another room to get a rifle that had only blanks in it, the ambassador said.

The younger brother of the dead engineering student was dragged by his hair into a corridor and beaten while the rest of the family was told to wait outside, he said.

The interpreter told the mother that her son had been shot and killed, according to Sumaidaie.

He said the family found him dead with a bullet to the neck.

"The Marines were smiling at each other as they were leaving," said Sumaidaie in his email.

"The ramifications of this are enormous. Apart from the personal tragedy, and sense of grief, there is the damage to the Iraq Project.”

Ellie