US expresses regret over “friendly fire” deaths
The United States has expressed regret over the death of the Jordanian officer killed by US “friendly fire” in Iraq.
US troops killed the Jordanian and eight Iraqi policemen with nine others injured including a doctor in a “friendly fire” incident on Friday at a checkpoint in the town of Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad.
The incident took place near a hospital in the war torn town.
The policemen were members of the auxiliary Facilities Protection Services.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned his Jordanian counterpart, Marwan al-Muasher, conveying America’s remorse over the incident.
‘Powell offered condolences for the tragic incident and praised the humanitarian role the hospital plays in helping the Iraqi people in these hard times,’ the Arabic-language Al-Rai daily said.
On Saturday afternoon, angry Iraqis at the policemen’s funeral chanted “America is the enemy of God”, “The blood of our martyrs will not go in vain” and “Falluja will keep its jihad.”
Fawzi Namiq, a local Muslim leader, said through loudspeakers: “Save your bullets for the chests of the enemy.”
Separately, Colin Powell met for talks with the permanent members of the UN Security Council in Geneva on Saturday to discuss the worsening Iraq situation.
He announced plans to visit Iraq and Kuwait at an undisclosed date.
