U.S. troops fire at Canadian convoy in Iraq

[sonz]

U.S. occupation forces opened fire on a Canadian diplomatic convoy in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, the U.S. army and Canadian diplomats said on Wednesday, according to Reuters.

No casualties were reported.

The U.S. army claims that the soldiers fired on the cars after they failed to slow down while approaching a U.S. military convoy.

"The Canadian ambassador's vehicle did sustain damage yesterday from U.S. military gunfire," said the statement.

"The rear guard on a U.S. convoy signaled the vehicle to stay back. After it failed to do so and continued moving toward the convoy from behind, warning shots were aimed at the front of the vehicle, away from the passenger area."

"The incident is under review to determine why it was necessary to fire warning shots," said the statement.

But a Canadian spokeswoman had a different account. She said there were no warning shots or signals before the bullets hit the convoy, which carried four Canadian diplomats, including the charge d'affaire.

"They (the U.S. soldiers) were on the other side of the road parked behind a waist-high cement barrier and we were passing on the other side. There were several lanes on our side of the road and theirs between us when they opened fire,” she said.

IRAQIS often complain that U.S. troops are too quick to fire. There have been repeated incidents in which American forces have fired on civilian vehicles and diplomatic convoys since the U.S.-led INVASION in March 2003.

* Deadline for German hostages

The kidnappers of two German engineers in IRAQ threatened to kill them within 72 hours unless Germany ended co-operation with the Iraqi government.

According to a video received by an Arabic satellite channel on Tuesday, the captors demanded Germany to withdraw its companies form IRAQ, and close its Baghdad embassy.

In the video, the two hostages were seen next to masked men who pointed automatic rifles at them. The tape was dated January 29.

"The pictures are testimony to a crime that shows a contempt for humanity. Experts from the foreign ministry crisis group are examining the pictures carefully," said a German Foreign Ministry spokesman.

The two engineers, identified as Rene Braeunlich and Thomas Nitzschke, were kidnapped last Tuesday near an oil refinery compound in the northern Iraqi city of Baiji.

The two appeared in a previous video on January 27 in which they urged the German government to secure their release.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier confirmed after the screening of the first video that the German government had contacted the kidnappers but did not give any further details.

At least 40 Westerners and hundreds of Iraqis are being held hostage in IRAQ, including Four Christian aid workers, who also face a death threat unless all Iraqi prisoners are released.

In a separate development, a human bomber blew himself in a road outside the Sunni Muslim al-Sumarai Mosque in New Baghdad, killing more than eight Iraqis and wounding 30 others, police said on Wednesday.

Police said the blast targeted a group of men waiting at the side of a road, hoping for work on construction sites. Iraqi officials say there had been no security forces at the scene, and the reason for the attack was unclear.

[anis_z24]

Salam
This is not the first time.
The other time was during Afganistan and the US soliders killed about 4 Canadians.