|
|
| ||||||||||||||||
Reuters | Sky News |  PhotosSunday March 30, 12:17 PM |
Iraq says two U.S. helicopters downed
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq says it has shot down two U.S. helicopters,
killing at least two crew, and from now on it will bury all enemy dead on
the battlefield.
The Pentagon said it had no reports of missing aircraft.
"Iraqi tribesmen and other fighters downed an Apache helicopter and
killed two pilots," Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf told a
news conference on Sunday, detailing fighting near the southern city of
Basra in the past 24 hours.
Sahaf also said that Iraqi forces downed another helicopter in Khazaf,
central Iraq. The fate of the crew was unclear but Iraqi forces found
identification tags used by U.S. personnel in the debris.
In Washington, a Pentagon official said: "There are no reports of any
downed aircraft."
In the southern town of Zubayr, Sahaf said Iraqi fighters had downed an
unmanned spy plane, destroyed four tanks and "captured or killed" some
enemy forces.
He said the two Apache crew were buried where they were found.
"We have issued orders, from now on...we will bury them according to
their religious traditions and the Ministry of Islamic Affairs will take
care of burying these mercenaries," he said.
He also said that seven Iraqis, three of them children, were killed
during fighting on the road between Najaf and Kerbala, 110 km (80 miles)
southwewst of Baghdad.
Two Kuwaitis had been captured in the past day, he added.
The minister reiterated charges that British forces had destroyed about
75,000 tonnes of food stores in Iraq's southern city of Basra and accused
the invading U.S.-led forces of hypocrisy by now seeking to distribute aid
to Iraqis.
"They destroyed huge quantities of food that belong to the civilians of
Iraq and now they say they are here to provide humanitarian aid," he said.
He accused "British mercenaries" of killing people and then returning
the next day to offer condolences to survivors.
Sahaf also said that U.S. and British forces prevented food shipments
from reaching the southern port of Umm Qasr, adding that four vessels with
sugar, cooking oil, tea, soap and powdered milk had been turned away from
the port. |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Email
this article - View most sent
articles -  Print this
page More From > World
Yahoo! Full
Coverage > Iraq Conflict:
Casualties
Yahoo! Full
Coverage > Iraq
News
|
|
|
|
of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of Reuters Limited.
We also welcome your comments & suggestions. News Survey - Have your say! |
Copyright © 2003 Yahoo! UK Limited. All rights reserved. |
Full
Coverage
