British Soldier Allegedly Aimed and Fatally Shot Iraqi Girl

A British soldier aimed and fatally shot an eight-year-old girl in Iraq, said Amnesty International on May 11.

The U.S. Defense Department said there are hundreds of yet-undisclosed pictures of U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi POWs, adding to a scandal that seems to have no end.

The coalition forces have continually abused POWs in spite of protests by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other human rights groups.

Eight-year-old Girl Killed—

In August of last year, a soldier from B Company of the First Battalion of the King`s Regiment aimed from 55 meters away and fatally shot Hanan Saleh Matrud, an eight-year-old girl, in Karmat `Ali, said Amnesty International, quoting eyewitness reports.

“The British troops claimed they found the girl among the wedding guests and shot a warning shot,” said the human rights group. “However, the eyewitness testified otherwise,” said an Amnesty International delegate who visited the site in February and March.

“The British government failed to conduct investigations into all civilian killings, and the investigations that have been carried out have failed to ensure that justice was done and seen to be done. The investigations have been shrouded in secrecy,” said the human rights group.

No Isolated Cases—

Abuses of POWs by the coalition forces are well-documented in a report announced by the ICRC on May 10. The organization documents a long list of abuses of Iraqi prisoners by coalition forces, including physical and psychological torture and death in an attempt to extract intelligence from them. The ICRC found an abuse pattern as part of routine, not individual actions, in prisons.

The ICRC also said it has repeatedly raised concerns related to the ill-treatment of POWs since April, only to be ignored by the coalition forces.

The report indicated that 70 to 90 percent of Iraqi internees were arrested by the U.S. military without evidence. Apart from 600 inmates out of a total of 43,000, none received legal consultation. Abuse is not just limited to the Abu Ghraib prison, but it has been widespread throughout internment facilities in Iraq, some accounts claim.

‘The interrogator coiled a long belt around my body. Then he put my head in a plastic bag and pulled it tight. I was suffocating, I thought I was going to die," said Qusay Mehawish, a 23 year-old detainee in Camp Bagdadi, in Al-Anbar province.

An investigation into United States military intelligence and interrogation methods in Iraq will be "comprehensive" and cover all detention facilities in the country, Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt said on May 10, speaking for the Coalition Forces.

More Pictures of Abuse—

Besides the approximately 10 pictures President Bush viewed while on his visit to the Defense Department on May 10, the department also has in its possession some short videos showing abuses. Defense Department spokesman Larry Di Rita said, “"Many, many hundreds" of images on three compact discs, but it is noted that each disc contained many duplicate images so the total number was difficult to determine.”

Dong-Won Kim daviskim@donga.com