U.S. copters commit ‘massacre’ in northern town

By Mrawan al-Ani

Azzaman, February 16, 2008

U.S. helicopter gun ships opened fire on a house in the small town of Zab in northern Iraq, killing eight people, five of them children from the same family, a police source said.

“It is a massacre. The eight martyrs include two men, one woman and five children,” said a police source, refusing to be named.

The incident took place late last week and U.S. and Iraqi sources have kept it under wraps.

Many incidents like these go unreported in the violence-plagued country as reporters are afraid to leave their highly-protected hotels and offices in the capital Baghdad.

The officer said the copter came under fire “from unidentified gunmen” and the response has resulted in eight civilians killed.

The officer said it was difficult to tell where the gunmen targeting the U.S. copters were stationed.