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Children killed as marines fire on vehicle

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,935307,00.html

Saturday April 12, 2003
The Guardian

US marines said they killed two children at a checkpoint in Iraq yesterday when the driver of the vehicle in which the youngsters were travelling ignored warnings to stop, creating fears of a suicide attack.
Captain Jay Delarosa, spokesman for the 15th US Marine Expeditionary Unit in Nassiriya, said nine other people in the vehicle were wounded in the incident.

"Our marines took action to protect themselves against what they thought was a suicide attack," he said, claiming the driver ignored repeated warnings to stop.

"We are providing the best available medical assistance to those injured," he added. No weapons had been found in the vehicle. "It was a regrettable mistake."

American forces manning checkpoints across Iraq are on edge following suicide attacks that have killed or wounded soldiers checking vehicles.

Capt Delarosa said a vehicle that he described as a minivan had approached a checkpoint in Nassiriya at high speed. "The vehicle was told numerous times to stop, not only by the signs but by motions by the marines," he said.

"The vehicle picked up speed and moved through the protecting obstacles in front of the checkpoint. The marines suspected, because of the actions, that it was a suicide bomber. The marines opened fire. Our command regrets this incident."

On March 29, four soldiers were killed in a suspected suicide attack near Najaf. On April 4, three US special forces soldiers and two Iraqis were killed when a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint in central Iraq.

On Thursday night, five servicemen were injured in a suicide attack at a checkpoint in Baghdad.

On April 1, American soldiers shot dead seven women and children when their car failed to stop at a checkpoint near Najaf. Three days later, seven Iraqis, including three children, died when marines opened fire on two vehicles south of Baghdad.