Ishaqi
Encyclopedia
Ishaqi is a small town in the Balad district
of the Salah ad Din Governorate of Iraq
about 60 miles north of Baghdad
.
in the province of Salahuddin when Al Qaeda linked militants launched an attack. The U.S. military then said coalition troops returned fire, killing two of the insurgents. As the firefight continued, troops called in the air strikes. The U.S. military said 20 al-Qaeda insurgents, including two women, were killed in the raid.
Local officials in Jalameda claimed there were actually 17 victims and that they included five men, six women, and five children. Locals of the area claiming to be relatives showed the children's bodies to journalists. Al Jazeera claimed to have exclusive footage that confirms children were among the victims of the US air raid.
Iraqi reaction included mourners firing into the air overnight as they buried the victims of the raid. Hundreds of chanting residents of Jalameda marched through Ishaqi overnight firing shots and carrying banners that read: "The people of Ishaqi condemn the mass killing by the occupation forces". Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the biggest Sunni political bloc in parliament, said, "We ask the Americans to be merciful. They kill civilians alleging they are terrorists. Ishaqi is a catastrophe."
The Agence France Presse news agency passed its own photographs of the dead children to Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman, asking for an explanation on the latest allegations. Garver replied, "We've checked with the troops who conducted this operation - there were no children found among the terrorists killed." Garver continued, "I see nothing in the photos that indicates those children were in the houses that our forces received fire from and subsequently destroyed with the air strike."
Balad District
Balad District is a district of the Salah ad Din Governorate, Iraq....
of the Salah ad Din Governorate of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
about 60 miles north of Baghdad
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
.
1st 2006 incident
In March 2006 Iraqi police reported that American troops had executed 11 people in Ishaqi after capturing them in a raid, including a 75-year-old woman and a 6-month-old baby. New footage of the event's aftermath was released in June 2006, sparking an investigation of the event. The US forces were later cleared of wrongdoing by a US military probe, sparking protests from the Iraqi government, who vowed to continue their own investigation.2nd 2006 incident
In December 2006 the US military conducted an air raid on Ishaqi. U.S.-led coalition forces said they were looking through several buildings near Lake ThartharLake Tharthar
Lake Tharthar, known in Iraq as Buhayrat ath Tharthar , is a lake situated 120 kilometers north of Baghdad between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. It is the largest lake in Iraq. The construction of several dams has made it an important source for irrigation. Its size shrinks and expands...
in the province of Salahuddin when Al Qaeda linked militants launched an attack. The U.S. military then said coalition troops returned fire, killing two of the insurgents. As the firefight continued, troops called in the air strikes. The U.S. military said 20 al-Qaeda insurgents, including two women, were killed in the raid.
Local officials in Jalameda claimed there were actually 17 victims and that they included five men, six women, and five children. Locals of the area claiming to be relatives showed the children's bodies to journalists. Al Jazeera claimed to have exclusive footage that confirms children were among the victims of the US air raid.
Iraqi reaction included mourners firing into the air overnight as they buried the victims of the raid. Hundreds of chanting residents of Jalameda marched through Ishaqi overnight firing shots and carrying banners that read: "The people of Ishaqi condemn the mass killing by the occupation forces". Adnan al-Dulaimi, head of the biggest Sunni political bloc in parliament, said, "We ask the Americans to be merciful. They kill civilians alleging they are terrorists. Ishaqi is a catastrophe."
The Agence France Presse news agency passed its own photographs of the dead children to Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver, a US military spokesman, asking for an explanation on the latest allegations. Garver replied, "We've checked with the troops who conducted this operation - there were no children found among the terrorists killed." Garver continued, "I see nothing in the photos that indicates those children were in the houses that our forces received fire from and subsequently destroyed with the air strike."