Human Shields Killed in Iraq Air Attack

The cowardly terrorist scum in Iraq continue to use civilians as human shields, and U.S. forces wind up being criticized for it.

Accidents happen, but at the same time, the locals need to understand that we're not dealing with a conventional enemy here, nor are we targeting civilians, and they need to help expose the enemies in their midst.

Naturally, Reuters lays the blame on the United States.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The U.S. military said it killed 11 people in a helicopter attack on a group of men seen planting a roadside bomb north of Baghdad on Tuesday, but police and residents said the dead were farmers, women and children.

The U.S. military acknowledged that six of those killed were civilians and said it regretted their deaths, but it blamed militants for using civilians as a shield.

The air strike was the third resulting in civilian deaths in two weeks and comes as the U.S. military's reliance on airpower to target militants is under increased scrutiny from the Iraqi government and the United Nations mission in Iraq.

U.N. officials have expressed concern at the number of civilians killed in air strikes and said more care must be taken in military operations to protect them.

Major Peggy Kageleiry, the U.S. military spokeswoman in northern Iraq, said an Apache attack helicopter had spotted five men planting a roadside bomb near the city of Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of the Iraqi capital.

The helicopter "engaged" the men, who then ran into a nearby house that was also targeted. Kageleiry said an initial investigation showed five "military age males" and six civilians were killed in the strike.

"They chose to go into a house with civilians to hide. They endangered folks on the ground by doing that. We send condolences to the families of those victims and we regret any loss of life," she said.

Meanwhile, incidents of violence continue to sharply plummet, though the New York Times is apparently oblivious to this fact.

Reality isn't their strong suit.