Line Between Militias, Civilians Blurred in Iraq

[TacticalPeek]

Line Between Militias, Civilians Blurred in Iraq
Tue Apr 6, 2004 10:53 AM ET

By Michael Georgy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Judging by the wounds and death tolls, the night-time battles between radical Shi'ites and U.S. troops in Baghdad's Sadr City slum are fierce and tactics dirty.

But determining whether the casualties are civilians or militiamen loyal to fiery cleric Moqtada al-Sadr may be impossible as fighting rages after dark in a district that is closed off by many American tanks.

snip

Most say they were shot with no warning by U.S. troops while walking at night in the densely populated slum of about two million people.

Ali Saghir, whose arm was broken by a bullet, said he had brought the man in the bed across from him to hospital after he was shot. He was attending to another victim of the clashes when he himself was shot.

"I was suddenly shot in the arm and legs. I did nothing to provoke it. I was just helping someone," he said.

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http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=4764154