Iraq officials admit confusion over children killed(2 different incidents in Ramadi)

[maddezmom]

BAGHDAD, Feb 28 (Reuters) - A report of a bomb killing 18 people, mostly children, on Tuesday in the Iraqi city of Ramadi was wrong and stemmed from confusion over a similar attack the day before, police officials and residents said on Wednesday.

The reported killing of so many children drew swift condemnation from the president and the prime minister, but Colonel Tariq al Theibani, security adviser for Anbar province, said the report of the bombing on Tuesday was wrong.

"It happened the day before yesterday," he told Reuters.

He said 18 people, many of them children, were killed on Monday by a suicide car bomb, as previously reported. The U.S. military had put the death toll from that attack at 15.

Iraq's government and police had reported on Tuesday another bomb near a soccer field killing 18 people, mostly children. The U.S. military, which has a heavy presence in Anbar, had said it was unaware of such an attack.

more:http://mobile.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L28613019.htm

Bombing Attack Kills More Than A Dozen In Ramadi

At least 13 people are dead after a suicide car bombing near a police station in Iraq's Anbar province. Ten more are hurt, including children.

Authorities say the killer tried to slam through a checkpoint outside the station, but detonated his bomb when officers opened fire. It's the second bombing in that area since Saturday.

more:http://www.wcsh6.com/news/national/article.aspx?storyid=53545

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Heidi]

2. Kick.

:kick:

[Eugene]

3. (AP) U.S. Officer: Reports 18 Killed 'False'

U.S. Officer: Reports 18 Killed 'False'


Wednesday February 28, 2007 3:46 PM

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A report that 18 boys were killed this week in a car bombing in
Ramadi is “false,” a senior U.S. military official said Wednesday. Iraqi state television
reported Tuesday that the attack occurred that day in the Sunni insurgent stronghold
west of Baghdad. Iraqi police and military confirmed the account, but later said the
bombing took place Monday. The offices of the president and prime minister had also
denounced the reported attack.

The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about
violence targeting children.

But Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a U.S. military spokesman, said “the allegation was false” and
suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by U.S. forces
caused injuries in Ramadi.

On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by
flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-
threatening, it added.

“There was no second blast,” Fox told reporters, “and there was no 18 children killed.”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6446733,00.html

[maddezmom]

4. so are they saying the report from Monday is false, too?

:shrug:

[maddezmom]

5. Iraqi's still dispute US military claims that no one was killed

~snip~

"He came in a pickup," Mukeilef said. "Instead of coming in my street, he did it in a small park for children." Mukeilef said he has participated in a U.S.-backed group of sheiks opposed to Sunni insurgents.

Mukeilef's account corroborated information provided Tuesday by Col. Tariq al-Alwani, the security supervisor in Anbar province in western Iraq. Both men said the blast killed 16 children and three women, one of whom died Wednesday from her wounds. Ramadi is the provincial capital.

A U.S. military official denied on Wednesday that children had been killed in a bombing in Ramadi. The U.S. military said it detonated a seized cache of explosives Tuesday elsewhere in Ramadi, injuring at least 30 civilians who were struck by flying glass and debris because military officials misjudged the power of the explosives. Some initial news reports indicated that children playing soccer at that location had been killed.

"We ran this down," said Rear Adm. Mark Fox, a top military spokesman in Iraq, at a briefing Wednesday. "There was no second blast and there were not 18 children killed. The soccer field that was touted in the erroneous report was across the street from the structure that was in the controlled detonation."

more:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/28/AR2007022801051.html

[uppityperson]

6. False massacre report puts media on firing line

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003594564_iraqnobomb01.html
The report sounded horrific. A suicide truck bomb set off in Ramadi, a Sunni Muslim stronghold, targeted children on a soccer field, killing at least 15. The story was repeated by wire services, newspapers and television newscasts. Political figures and humanitarian groups alike condemned the attack.

The only problem: it didn't happen, a senior U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.

"There were no children killed," said Rear Adm. Mark Fox, spokesman for the multinational forces in Iraq. "The allegation was false."

The reports highlight how difficult it can be for media to get fast, accurate information in a country where rumors quickly take on the appearance of truth and where deadly violence often occurs in areas where Western journalists would themselves be targeted by killers or kidnappers if they tried to report from the scene....(more@link)