US soldiers kill 13 at Iraqi protest
US officials claimed the soldiers were shot at first with automatic rifles. At least 75 people were also injured in the attack.
The shooting took place late on Monday night, in Fallujah, about 30 miles west of the capital, Baghdad. The predominantly Sunni Muslim area provided strong support for Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party.
US Colonel Arnold Bray said at least seven Iraqis were hit by gunfire, but he could not confirm the reported deaths.
"There was fire directly over the heads of soldiers on the roof. They returned fire in order to protect the lives of our soldiers," said Lieutenant Colonel Eric Nantz.
Dr Ahmed Ghanim al-Ali, director of Fallujah General Hospital, said there were 13 dead, including three boys no older than 10. He said his medical crews were shot at when they went to retrieve the injured, whom he said numbered 75.
Local residents said the demonstrators were mostly youngsters aged between five and 20, but Col Bray insisted some of them had been armed.
"Ask them which kind of schoolboys carry AK-47s," he said.
The crowd of about 200 protesters was reportedly objecting to the presence of US troops in Fallujah.
But some residents said the protest was held by students aged five to 20 to ask the American soldiers to leave the school where they were based so classes could resume.
Soldiers at the scene said many in the crowd were firing assault rifles in the air.
"We saw three guys on the roof firing into the (school) building," said Sergeant Nkosi Campbell. "Everybody could see the muzzle flashes."
He said his men were worried about the rules of engagement whether or not they should open fire.
"They turned around and said, 'Hey, Sergeant, can we shoot?"' Sgt Campbell said. "That was when they were already receiving fire."
But Iraqis interviewed at the hospital insisted it was a peaceful demonstration and that no one was armed or throwing rocks.
One wounded 18-year-old man, Aqil Khaleil, said the US soldiers had opened fire with no warning.
"They waited until we came very close, and then they started shooting," he said. Residents said the shooting continued for at least 30 minutes.
Edtesam Shamsudeim, 37, who lives nearby, said her 45-year-old brother died in the gunfire. She was shot in the leg and her husband wounded.
"We were sitting in our house. When the shooting started, my husband tried to close the door to keep the children in, and he was shot," she said at the hospital. "Americans are criminals," she said.
In Qatar, US Central Command said the Americans "came under fire from Iraqis armed with AK-47s. The unit exercised its inherent right to self defence and returned fire".
Central Command said it had no confirmed reports of casualties.
"Coalition forces will continue to use the appropriate amount of force to defend themselves," it said.
The demonstration was the first organised protest against the Americans in Fallujah, although one soldier was slightly injured recently when a flare was fired at some troops, according to Nantz.
But residents said they had been growing increasingly disturbed by the presence of US forces.
Some in the conservative town were upset American soldiers were using night-vision goggles and could see into courtyards and onto rooftops, where women often sleep outside in the hot weather, according to one resident, Basheer Abdul Aziz.
A company of 150 soldiers was inside the school when the incident took place. Outside the school yesterday afternoon, people chanted for US forces to leave Iraq. "Go, go USA!" they shouted in Arabic.!
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