Iraq says US raid 'a crime,' violated security pact

26 Apr 2009 17:05:37 GMT
Source: Reuters
* Iraq says U.S. raid a crime

* Demands those responsible

* Asks for release of detainees

* U.S. forces say targeted fighters (Adds details)

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq, April 26 (Reuters) - Iraq viewed a U.S. military raid that killed two people as a crime that violated a bilateral security pact and demanded on Sunday that U.S. forces hand those responsible to the courts, an Iraqi official said.

The condemnation of the raid by Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government came after hundreds of Iraqis protested in the southern city of Kut against U.S. forces and the provincial governor condemned the military operation.

The U.S. military said it targeted "special group" fighters, its term for elite Shi'ite militiamen the United States says are funded and armed by Iran, in a raid early on Sunday on a house in Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad.

"The general commander is affirming that the killing of two citizens and detaining of others in Kut is considered a violation of the security pact," said an official in the office of Major General Qassim Moussawi, Baghdad's security spokesman.

"He asks the commander of the multinational forces to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts." 'General commander' refers to Maliki.

Under the U.S.-Iraqi security pact that came into force this year, the 137,000 U.S. troops in Iraq are no longer allowed to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval and coordination.

The pact says U.S. soldiers are immune to prosecution in Iraqi courts unless they are suspected of grave crimes committed while off duty outside their bases.

Two Iraqi military commanders who authorized the raid were detained on the orders of the defense minister, said Defense Ministry spokesman Major General Mohammed al-Askari. He said a committee had been sent to Kut to investigate.

"This committee has managed to get the six people detained by the Americans released," he said.

In a statement issued before the Iraqi government's condemnation, the U.S. military said its troops had shot and killed a man suspected of being behind supplying weapons to the Shi'ite fighters. One woman was killed in the crossfire and six suspected militants were arrested, it said.

ANGRY CROWDS

As a funeral procession made its way through Kut, carrying the cloth-draped coffins of the two people killed in the raid, protesters shouted angry slogans and demanded the release of the seized men, calling Americans "criminal occupiers."

"We condemn this horrific incident. It violates the agreements between U.S. forces and the Iraqi government," said Latif al-Tarfa, governor of Wasit province. "Innocent people were killed and the city is now very tense."

U.S. First Lieutenant John Brimley said the women killed "was in the area during the engagement with a suspect, and moved into the line of fire ... A medic treated her on site, but she died of her wounds before she could be evacuated."

Another U.S. military statement said the operation had been approved by the Iraqi government.

But Iraqi police Major Aziz al-Amara, who commands a rapid reaction force in Kut, said all of those targeted in the raid were innocent. One of those arrested was a police captain.

"They were poor people. They do not cause any political or security problems," he said.

The raid came just months before U.S. combat troops are due to withdraw from Iraqi cities. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered all U.S. combat operations in Iraq to cease in August 2010 ahead of the full withdrawal by the end of 2011.

Kut and surrounding Wasit province were the last area south of Baghdad to be handed over to Iraqi forces last October.

Wasit province was the scene of fighting during an uprising by followers of Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr in March and April last year, but like other parts of the south has since become largely quiet while Sadr's followers observe a ceasefire. (Additional reporting by Tim Cocks, Waleed Ibrahim and Aseel Kami; Writing by Tim Cocks)