Word: statements
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...roadside on the way to Baghdad International Airport at 8:40 a.m. "The Soldiers [from the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division] returned fire, which resulted in the vehicle running off the road and striking a wall. The vehicle then exploded," read the release. The military statement also said that "a weapon was recovered from the wreckage" and "two MND-B convoy vehicles received bullet hole damage from the small arms fire." But the Iraqi police report, which was obtained by TIME, had a different account: "Twenty-seven bullet holes [were found] on the right-hand side of [Mehdi...
...Mehdi would have had no way of knowing that he would encounter an American convoy there that morning. "No, they are not usually there," says U.S. military spokesman Mark Cheadle, referring to the convoy from the 4th Brigade that was parked at the roadside. According to a Global Security statement obtained by TIME, the American platoon had been on its way to a military base near the airport when they were forced to pull over because a humvee was having engine trouble. It said one of the soldiers on the ground said he thought he heard gunfire and alerted...
Like the Iraqi police report, the Global statement said no weapons had been found at the scene and Mehdi's car had been searched at all the Global checkpoints prior to the event. It also stated there was "no evidence" the three people in the car had displayed any hostility toward the American convoy...
...speed despite several obstructions in the road. Soldiers located at the rear of the convoy perceived the rapidly approaching vehicle as a threat and executed established escalation of force measures. When the vehicle failed to respond to the soldiers' warning measures, it was engaged with small arms fire. Initial statements included information about a weapon in the vehicle; the investigation confirmed no weapon was recovered from the vehicle. The initial statement resulted from the numerous soldier witnesses who strongly believed they were being fired upon from the vehicle, and a misunderstanding that the Iraqi Police arriving at the scene collected...
...Iraqi police report listed the American soldiers in the convoy who fired on Mehdi's car as "Lt. Thanie Painter ... driver Sgt. Phillips ... Sgt. Sagona ... Sgt. Elliot and Sgt. Shakespeare." The military has not confirmed the names of the soldiers involved or commented on their status. The U.S. military statement on the results of the investigation quote Colonel Allen Batschelet, chief of staff of the coalition forces in Baghdad, as saying, "This was an extremely unfortunate and tragic incident ... Our deepest regrets of sympathy and condolences go out to the family. We are taking several corrective measures to amend...