BAGHDAD, Iraq - A videotape taken by an Iraqi shows the aftermath of an
alleged attack by U.S. troops on civilians in their homes in a western town last
November: a blood-smeared bedroom floor and bits of what appear to be human
flesh and bullet holes on the walls.
This image taken from a videotape made by a Haditha
journalism student and obtained by Time Magazine shows a scene in what appears
to be a morgue following an alleged fatal raid by United States forces November
19, 2005, in Haditha, Iraq. Residents of Haditha allege that United States
Marines shot dead 15 members of two families in a raid, which followed a
roadside bombing which killed a U.S. Marine. The military says it is
investigating potential misconduct by U.S. Marines. [AP]
An Iraqi human rights group condemned the bloodshed in the town of Haditha,
saying Tuesday that it could be "one of dozens of incidents that were not
revealed."
The video, obtained by Time magazine and repeatedly aired by Arab televisions
throughout the day, also showed bodies of women and children in plastic bags on
the floor of what appeared to be a morgue. Men were seen standing in the middle
of bodies, some of which were covered with blankets before being placed in a
pickup truck.
The images were broadcast a day after residents of Haditha, 140 miles west of
Baghdad, told The Associated Press that American troops entered homes and shot
dead 15 members of two families, including a 3-year-old girl, after a roadside
bomb killed a U.S. Marine.
Last week, the U.S. military announced that a dozen Marines are under
investigation for possible war crimes in the Nov. 19 incident, which left at
least 23 Iraqis dead in addition to the Marine.
Talal al-Zuhairi, who heads the Baghdad Center for Human Rights, said his
organization feared the troops, if convicted, will not be punished severely
enough.
"This incident shows that the forces are committing, every now and then,
operations that harm civilians," al-Zuhairi told The Associated Press.
"What we are worried about today ... (is that) a U.S. soldier may be
discharged from the military or jailed for two years," said al-Zuhairi. "This
would in no way be sufficient punishment for wiping out a whole family or
killing of a large number of people through an unjustifiable act."
The allegations against the Marines were first brought forward by Time,
though the magazine noted that the available evidence did not prove conclusively
that the Marines deliberately killed innocents.
The magazine said it obtained the video, taken by a Haditha journalism
student inside the houses and local morgue, two months ago.
A U.S. military statement in November had described the incident as an ambush
on a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol that left 15 civilians, eight insurgents and a U.S.
Marine dead in the bombing and a subsequent firefight. That statement said the
15 civilians were killed by the blast, a claim residents denied.
The residents said the only shooting done after the bombing was by U.S.
forces.
Al-Zuhairi called on the Iraqi government to investigate.
"We hope that this scandal will produce a reaction among Iraq's politicians.
They should review their calculations in dealing with American troops and take
into consideration that deadly mistakes are committed against Iraqis,"
al-Zuhairi said.