Snipers kill 17 in attackon Shi’ite pilgrims

[bemildred]

SNIPERS firing from rooftops and a cemetery killed at least 17 people and wounded dozens yesterday in a series of attacks on a Shi’ite religious procession that drew hundreds of thousands of pilgrims to Baghdad.


The “terrorist assaults” took place when the pilgrims were walking through Sunni areas on their way to the shrine of Imam Moussa Kadhim, a Shi’ite saint, Health Ministry spokesman Qassim Allawi said.

In one neighbourhood, security forces and Shi’ite militiamen in flak jackets were seen exchanging gunfire with unseen assailants who were firing from houses and buildings. Some of the attackers were firing from behind tombstones in a Sunni cemetery.

Irish Examiner

Let's not forget this:

US snipers stake out rooftops as soldiers search Baghdad

BAGHDAD (AFP) - On a sweltering summer day, sniper Jesse Turner, 27, scans a large swathe of Baghdad from the roof of the tallest building in the capital's Shuala neighbourhood.

As Turner keeps watch, colleagues from his US military unit conduct an intense house-to-house search below.

"Personally, I don't want to kill anybody," says a cheerful Turner.

"I will do my job even though it looks like assassinating people who do not know that they are being shot at. But if they want to kill my friend or hurt American soldiers, I will do my job."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060818/wl_mideast_afp/iraqussniper

[TomInTib]

1. I was thinking when I first saw those reports.

And wondering where was our surveillance when there were hundreds of thousands of people gathering in Baghdad.
Why didn't we have choppers in the air and rooftop all over that deal?

This makes no sense at all.

It is an absolute wonder (if this story is true) that there weren't hundreds (if not thousands) of deaths from trampling.

[maddezmom]

2. duplicate topic

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=2465606