Friendly fire kills eight
US troops killed at least eight Iraqi policemen, a Jordanian security guard, and left nine others injured in a “friendly fire” incident on Friday at a checkpoint in the town of Fallujah, 30 miles west of Baghdad.
The incident took place near a hospital in the war torn town.
It is believed the US soldiers opened fire as two vehicles carrying Iraqi police gave chase to a car purportedly carrying “bandits.”
The chase ensued initially after gunmen in a white BMW opened fire on the governor’s office in the town centre.
Police followed the vehicle but American troops mistook the US-trained Iraqis for rebels.
Those killed on Friday were members of the auxiliary Facilities Protection Services.
Injured policemen are being treated in a Jordanian hospital.
Constable Wisam Mahmud Jassem said he could not explain the US “ambush.”
“We shouted: ‘We are police, we are police, don’t shoot’. But they took no notice,” he said.
In a separate incident, two US soldiers were killed and seven wounded during a shootout in Ramadi.
Three Iraqis were reportedly killed.
Support for ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is particularly strong in Falluja. Several skirmishes have occurred in recent months involving US troops.
