American Airstrike Kills Civilians, Raises Concerns
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
BAGHDAD — The deaths of nine civilians, including a child, in an American airstrike south of Baghdad raised fresh concerns about the military’s ability to distinguish friend from foe in a campaign to uproot insurgents from Sunni areas on the capital’s doorstep.
Witnesses and Iraqi police said helicopters strafed a house Saturday after confusing American-allied Sunni fighters for extremists in the deadliest case of mistaken identity since November. The U.S. military yesterday confirmed the civilian deaths.
As the firepower increases so do the risks of claiming innocent lives. And each such death potentially frays the crucial alliances between the Pentagon and new Sunni allies.
