Report of Soccer Field Deaths “False”
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, Iraq (AP) – A report that 18 boys were killed this week in a car bombing in Ramadi is “false,” a senior American military official said Wednesday.
Iraqi state television reported Tuesday that the attack occurred that day in the Sunni insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad. Iraqi police and military confirmed the account, but later said the bombing took place Monday. The offices of the president and prime minister had also denounced the reported attack.
The report brought denunciations from top Iraqi officials and international groups about violence targeting children.
But Rear Admiral Mark Fox, an American military spokesman, said “the allegation was false” and suggested that rumors began circulating after a controlled detonation by American forces caused injuries in Ramadi.
On Tuesday, a military statement said 30 civilians and one Iraqi soldier were injured by flying debris when troops destroyed 15 bags of explosives. None of the injuries was life-threatening, it added.
“There was no second blast,” Admiral Fox told reporters, “and there was no 18 children killed.”
