Seven-year-old wielding Kalashnikov shot during Iraq raid by US troops

[Judi Lynn]

Seven-year-old wielding Kalashnikov shot during Iraq raid by US troops
(AFP)

29 November 2003



BAGHDAD - A seven-year-old child brandishing a Kalashnikov was shot in the foot by US troops during a raid in the hotspot city of Ramadi, west of Baghdad, the US military said on Saturday.


Troops “conducted a mission in (the) Ramadi area today (Friday). While on patrol, the soldiers witnessed two men with weapons running into a nearby residence. The soldiers followed the men in order to apprehend them for questioning,” a Central Command statement said.

“Upon approaching the house, a seven-year-old child came out with an AK-47 rifle pointed at the soldiers. A soldier responded in self-defence and shot the child in the foot.”

The statement said the child was evacuated to a nearby army medical facility for treatment and then flown to Baghdad.
(snip/...)

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[RC]

1. At least they didn't turn the boy

into hamburger - this time.

[izzie]

2. International Clearing House really has some awful stories.

I know we should read them and I do up to a point but I always get into pictures and it really upsets me. I have said this before. I used to go to the movies as a kid and we would see the news reels of the Germans and Japaness bombing old, children and women and every one thought it was madness and now it is the same only it is the USA doing the bombing.Is Iraq the Spain of the 1930's or like any other country someone took over and blew up and killed its people willy-nilly. We have stopped being a great country.We are in shame.

[canucksvt]

3. Lack of parental/guardian control

Hello all, I am a long time lurker, and few time poster. My question is this...Why is a 7 year old boy brandishing an AK-47 in the first place? In what is obviously an area that is being patrolled and raided by coalition forces, what were the parents/guardians of this boy thinking? Were the parents/guardians of the boy even there to supervise him? I think the boy was lucky he did not get shot in the head instead of the foot.

[Dogmudgeon]

4. A little perspective

This is a dirt-poor environment under US occupation, where a radical nationlist philosophy is the only thing keeping the locals going.

Also consider that the tyke's parents may be dead. Even if only his father is dead, in such countries the mothers often have no power to control the kids at all.

This ain't Heartland America, it's Iraq, a country that has been beaten into a smear of blood like a dead horse since Saddam took power in the 1970s.

--bkl

[TexasMexican]

11. Dead Parents

Like BareKnuckledLiberal said, his parents are probably dead.

[slinkerwink]

18. welcome to DU!!!!!!

:hi:

[Aidoneus]

19. what was he doing? defending his house, it seems

The occupation forces shoot a kid, yet the blame is on the latter?.. how strange.

[Judi Lynn]

5. Here's the link, working this time, one would hope.

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/focusoniraq/2003/November/focusoniraq_November194.xml§ion=focusoniraq


Sorry, I should have checked it the first time.

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As for wondering what the child was doing with a gun, I believe it's very likely that's a stupid story, created to cover injuring the kid. They have never shown any shyness about blowing away ANYONE with a gun, or even SUSPECTED of having a gun, regardless of circumstances, in the past.

On edit:

I believe you have to copy and paste the URL into your address line, or see if this works:

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Thanks for your patience.

[leftchick]

6. I agree with Judilyn....

If this is the official US Command statement of the event then I say it is officially BULLSHIT!

[Vitruvius]

8. A "throw-down Kalashnikov".

Racist cops have used "throw-down" pistols to justify killing Blacks for years. And Iraqis are kinda brown...

[reknewcomer]

22. And many thought the earth was flat for for eons

What is your point?

[Malva Zebrina]

7. suffering children--heart breaking photo

maybe the youngster had some notion that he was protecting the family--that we cannot believe anything we read coming out of Iraq is really pathetic-obviously the children are being turned into war waifs , frightened and scared

[DuctapeFatwa]

9. It's a "multi-generational committment"

Reducing the number of children today means fewer adults tomorrow, and that will facilitate maintaining "security" of Iraq's natural resources and ensure continuing reports like the paste below.
=====================================

Halliburton announced over the weekend that third quarter 2003 income from continuing operations was $92 million or $0.21 per diluted share. Net income was $58 million or $0.13 per diluted share, which includes a net loss from discontinued operations of $0.08 per diluted share.
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/business/b204112003.html

[leftchick]

10. The Child is now 11 Years Old!

Story Revision Alert..... I am on way back from the gym and just heard on NPR that the child brandishing the weapon at the soldiers was 11 years old!! Next report he will be a young adult! :crazy:

[TexasMexican]

12. to be fair

reports are often revised all the time, check out the whole Jessica Lynch thing.

It could be that the first people who reported it didnt know exactly how old the kid was.

[leftchick]

13. Sorry....

Pehaps I have become jaded, I am way beyond giving the benefit of the doubt to Centcom on any of their reports.

[Ksec]

14. Viet Nam " memories" nt

[Ksec]

15. Kalishnikovs were Soviet made / but no longer

Chinese made Ak47s are much more common now. Im wondering if that was a real Kalishnikov? These rifles are coveted in Desert warfare for their ability to operate in very sandy conditions, American M16s are notorius for jamming over a grain of sand. Not that it matters. They can still explode thru concrete. I feel for the children of Iraq. Very depressing stuff..

[loudnclear]

16. Even 7-year olds hate occupation. We are growing the next generation

of terrorists who will come after our own children. Can you really blame them? Remember, it was only 45 years ago that somewhere in hundreds of cities around this nation, 7-year olds (girls and boys) stood around in white hoods and watched a flaming cross as they held the hands of their parents.

[Aidoneus]

17. trying to invade a house and they call shooting a kid "self defense"?

:argh: :puke:

[Big_Mike]

20. What choice do the soldiers have?

Noone in their right mind wants to shoot a child. Whoever fired will be seeing this in their dreams for years. But what can you do? I think that they did about the best they could. They didn't shoot "center mass" but rather at the leg. I believe they did the best possible under the circumstances.

What was Sherman's line?

"War is Hell!"

[NickB79]

21. How about not invading someone's home to begin with?

Seeing as this whole war is illegal and pointless, the US soldiers shouldn't be there in the first place to have to be put in that position.

[Iverson]

23. a disturbing photo to jog your memory

This whole notion of "no choice" was discredited at the Nuremberg Trials, but here we are on liberal DU reviving it.

I refuse to accept that humanity isn't good enough a choice. But that's just crazy ol' me. Ready, aim, ...

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