US occupation forces killed four Iraqis in the city of Fallujah, eyewitnesses said Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, it was reported that hundreds of people protested in the city following the arrest of a woman during a US raid Monday. The woman's husband and brother-in-law were suspected of anti-US activities.
Meanwhile, US troops opened fire at a car in Baghdad, killing the driver and a boy, moments after a military vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb, relatives said Tuesday. One soldier was killed in the Monday bombing, the US military said.
Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, a deputy commander of the division responsible for security in the Iraqi capital, said the shooting "has not been confirmed" and the Army has launched an investigation.
The shooting reportedly took place near the Oil ministry when the car passed two Humvees on patrol, said Wijdan Abdel Wahab, whose two sisters, two nephews and a niece were in the car.
The family was returning from the hospital, where an aunt was undergoing medical treatment. As the vehicle passed the convoy, one Humvee was hit by the roadside bomb and the other Humvee started shooting indiscriminately, Wijdan told The AP.
She said her nephew Mustafa Jamal Shaikly, 10, and the family driver, identified only as Haider, were killed by the gunfire. Mustafa's mother, Istabraq, 30, and aunt, Hayam, 40, were seriously injured, Wijdan said.
"We want to leave Iraq because of the Americans and the Governing Council," Wijdan said, as she added Istabraq's other two children, Ahmed, 8, and Noor, 6, suffered minor bruises but were not shot.
Elsewhere, a US Apache attack helicopter was shot down Tuesday near the Iraqi town of Habbaniyah, some 80 kilometers west of Baghdad - the third helicopter downed in the region in less than two weeks.
The two crew members of the AH-64 gunship were safe, and the US military secured the area, military spokesman Col. William Darley said. An American military quick-reaction force rescued the crew members.
"It was apparently downed by enemy fire," Darley said. "I understand they were not hurt."
(Albawaba.com)
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