Two cruise missiles struck a residential area in Baghdad on Wednesday, killing 14 people, Iraqi defense officials said - the worst single reported instance of civilian deaths since the U.S. bombing campaign began a week ago.
Thirty others were reported wounded in the attack, which took place around midday in the heavily populated northern Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Shaab. The area consists of homes and about 30 shops, mostly inexpensive restaurants and auto repair shops.
It's amazing to live in a country that has a press that yells censorship if anyone questions their reporting, but will take a quote from a controlled totalitarian government and treat it as gospel.
Associated Press Television News video showed a large crater in the street, a smoldering building, demolished cars, and bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting in the back of a pickup truck. . . Hundreds of people milled around on the street in front of the gutted market. Some of them shook their fists in anger.
Oh, I'm sure reporters just happened upon this video, and it wasn't in any way controlled by the government. No chance that those bodies were victims of Saddam's hand.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, reacting to reports of the civilian deaths in Baghdad, said he was "getting increasingly concerned by humanitarian casualties in this conflict. I would want to remind all belligerents that they should respect international humanitarian law and take all necessary steps to protect civilians," Annan told reporters at U.N. headquarters.
We really need to be reminded by this fool? How about telling the Iraqis to get their military equipment away from the civilians?
U.S. Central Command said in a statement. . . "In some cases, such damage is unavoidable when the (Iraqi) regime places military weapons near civilian areas."
This quote is for the ages:
"We are determined to defend our capital after what we have seen of our brothers' resistance in the south," Baghdad truck driver Ahmed Falah said. "The whole world is with us now, even the weather, because the sandstorm has brought benefits to us. They are the storms of God."
Does that mean if by some off chance that we defeat these guys, God is really on our side?
When you talk to Iraqis away from Saddam you get a different story.
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