[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

[MEG33]

He sounds like they did it on purpose.

[Hazzardgate]

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

[ArneFufkin]

He said the bomb was dropped from a U.S. plane 10 to 12 feet (about four metres) from where he was standing.

Imagine a 250 lb bomb exploding 10 feet from you. This freindly fire charge is a FRAUD!!!