Attack on Iraqi Family in Van Called Tragic

In what the U.S. military called a tragic, split-second judgment call, an Army gunner atop a Humvee opened fire on a minivan in the city of Baqubah on Monday, killing five unarmed members of an Iraqi family after the driver apparently failed to heed warning shots and a signal to halt.

Two and a half hours later, a second minivan, booby trapped and parked near a bus terminal not far from the same city, exploded just before another American Humvee was about to pass. The blast in the town of Kanaan missed the Army vehicle but killed five Iraqis and wounded 14 who were standing nearby.

The two incidents underscored the perilous nature of everyday encounters on the roads of Iraq as U.S. forces, unnerved by suicide car bombers and other attackers who strike almost daily, regard every oncoming vehicle with suspicion.

Maj. Steve Warren, a spokesman for the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division, confirmed some details of both incidents offered by police, witnesses and hospital officials in Baqubah, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad. The deaths were the latest in a series of violent episodes that have killed more than 150 people in four days.

Warren said the shooting occurred about 6:30 a.m. near a U.S. forward operating base as armored vehicles were entering and leaving the camp. At such times, he said, U.S. soldiers frequently order all nearby vehicles to halt.

The Humvee was leaving the camp when the gunner waved at the approaching van, signaling it to stop, then fired several warning shots, the spokesman said.

“This vehicle keeps coming at him, and he has literally an instant to decide,” Warren said. “He knows his job is to protect himself and his buddies, and he knows that the terrorists put car bombs on the road every day.

“He followed the rules of engagement. What happened was a tragedy.”

A shaken survivor in the minivan disputed parts of the Army’s version. He said the family was traveling from the nearby town of Balad to attend a funeral.

“We were surprised by an American convoy and slowed down,” he said. “As we tried to move over to let them pass, they opened fire,” said the survivor, who identified himself only as a doctor.

Shakir Mahmoud, an official at Baqubah General Hospital, said two of the five dead were children. Relatives said one of the children had been decapitated. Mahmoud also said four members of the family were wounded.

U.S. officials say the Army does everything it can to avoid firing on noncombatants. But incidents like Monday’s have contributed to broad opposition to the American troop presence.

In other violence Monday, gunmen killed four policemen in Tarmiya, a largely Sunni Muslim town north of Baghdad. In Basra, a largely Shiite Muslim city in southern Iraq, gunmen killed a Sunni cleric, Khalil Ibrahim, outside his home, police said.

The victim was a member of the Muslim Scholars Assn., a group of influential Sunni clerics critical of the Shiite-led national government.

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A special correspondent in Baqubah contributed to this report.