US bombs own convoy in N Iraq

BBC News ^ | Sunday, 6 April, 2003, 08:37 GMT 09:37 UK | BBC News World (John Simpson)

[malamute]

US forces have bombed a convoy of American special forces and Kurdish civilians in northern Iraq, the BBC's world affairs editor John Simpson says.

John Simpson, who himself suffered minor injuries in the attack, said he could see a lot of bodies.

He described the attack as a "bad own goal" by the Americans.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2921743.stm

[Lucas1]

Very Sad...tears for these families

[Mo1]

Is this normal to have a political figure travelling with the soldiers?

That does sound odd .. but this is all coming for the BBC .. I'll wait for other reports

[anguish]

Is this normal to have a political figure travelling with the soldiers?

The political figure might very well also be a military guy, or maybe he was just going with them to meet the troops.

[swheats]

Same here.

[TexKat]

Something I was afraid of from the start.

[piasa]

Wel, he had one plane out before the war going back and forth into Saudi Arabia.

[TexKat]

Fox News is just reporting this.

[MEG33]

I saw a report of calling in air strikes and the diffuculty of fixing the target in N Iraq. God bless the injured and bless those who mourn. A blow.10 to 12 deaths US,Turks

[kattracks]

10-12 killed in friendly fire attack on US troops


LONDON, April 6 (Reuters) - A U.S. warplane bombed U.S. special forces and Kurdish civilians in a convoy on Sunday, killing at least 10 to 12 of them in a "friendly fire" incident in northern Iraq, said a BBC correspondent who witnessed the event.

The reporter, the BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson, told the television: "I have counted 10 to 12 bodies...Americans dead."

"This is just a scene from hell here. There are vehicles on fire, bodies lying around, and there are bits of bodies around me...

"They hit their own people... they've killed a lot of ordinary characters, I'm just looking at the bodies now and it's not a very pretty sight," Simpson, injured in the incident, told BBC television in the report from northern Iraq monitored in London.

He said a senior Kurdish political figure was believed to be among the wounded. He said the bomb was dropped from a U.S. plane 10 to 12 feet (about four metres) from where he was standing.



04/06/03 05:13 ET

[piasa]

Saw 10 to 12 bodies, some American. Looked like hell...

ONe of the injured was a senior Kurdish official in the north.

[MEG33]

He sounds like they did it on purpose.

[Hazzardgate]

MSNBC saying it was Special Forces in the convoy. Just damn.

[Mo1]

God bless the injured and bless those who mourn. A blow.10 to 12 deaths US,Turks

Agree ... prayers to all

[af_vet_rr]

From what I've read, most of the Kurds are fighters or consider themselves to be, not surprised at all if one of their political figures would travel with soldiers.

[swheats]

I read that in an article from FOX:

Kurdish troop strength along the southern frontline has risen from less than 400 several weeks ago to between 1,500 and 1,800 now. Mola Bakhtiyar, a Kurdish political and military leader, said it would rise quickly to about 3,000.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,83323,00.html

[limaoyuan]

Oh, I hate friendly fire .The soldiers can avert the attack from the enemy, but can't escape from the fire of their fellow, can they? The militarist should do something for this.

[Tamzee]

Say it aint so.... :-(

[LdSentinal]

The Fox Ticker on the bottom said that CENTCOM reports that 3 Americans dead and 5 injured in that bombing.

My sympathies go out to all of the victims.

[LPStar]

How horrible for the victims, and demoralizing. Also, this is terrible for the pilot who made this drop - can you imagine how he might feel?

[Samurai_Jack]

Prayers for the Troops... and pray that these weren't they who had just been to the whitehouse. I heard that this group was on its way to iraq to attempt to foment a rebellion against the saddam regime.

This is not going to look good.

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