Iraqi men shout as they join a peaceful rally at Sadr City, the
western part of Baghdad, to protest US-backed appointment of individuals
to the city council, October 5, 2003. Two Iraqi army veterans, awaiting
a back salary payment, were shot dead and eight others wounded late
Sunday by US forces who thought the men were about to riot, a police
officer reported. AP
KIRKUK, Iraq (AFP) - Two Iraqi army veterans, awaiting a back salary payment, were shot dead and eight
others wounded late Sunday by US forces who thought the men were about to riot, a police officer told AFP.
"Ahmed Abdel al-Sattar, 21, and Raed Kamel Mahdi, 25, were waiting for a taxi to pick them up after waiting
fruitlessly all day to receive their salary when US soldiers opened fire in the air and toward the people,"
police Major Etman Awad Mohammed told AFP Monday.
"Eight others were wounded mostly in the legs and feet and they were taken to Kirkuk hospital."
The US military had no immediate comment about the incident in the oil-rich city of Kirkuk 255 kilometres
(158 miles) north of Baghdad.
Elsewhere, a crowd of 150 former conscripts vowed to stay put by a coalition compound, in the centre of
Baghdad until they received a one-off payment of US$40, following two days of clashes that claimed the
lives of two Iraqis.
"We will be here every day until they pay us," said an irate Hamza Mahdi, 23, who has been trying to get
paid since September 18.
As Mahdi spoke, the crowd, across the street from US soldiers, with a tank positioned behind the gate to
their compound, shouted: "Give us money, give us money."
At least six US soldiers crossed the street and pushed the crowd back on to the sidewalk, while in front of
the compound gates, six veiled Iraqi women, tattooed and wrinkled, gestured wildly with their hands.
"Pay us, pay us", they shouted and demanded to know when they would be given pensions for the loss of
their husbands and sons killed fighting in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war, which cost the lives of a million
people.
A middle-aged man walked up to the soldiers by the barbed wire and asked why his name was not on any
payment list. "How many times must we come here for our money. They told me I count as part of the
security services. I should be paid," said Captain Hassan Kamel Malek, who identified himself as an army
engineer.
The army veterans said they were told on Sunday there would be no payments at this stage and that they
should stay tuned to radio and television for an announcement on future payouts.
US soldiers said they feared there could be a repeat of the past days' disturbances after clashes on
Saturday left two Iraqis dead in Baghdad and one in Basra.
But a British military spokesman in Basra said the situation in the southern city was quiet on Monday.
On Sunday, about 400 Iraqi former servicemen in Basra hurled rocks at British troops who responded by
firing rubber bullets.
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