US admits civilian deaths
2008-07-27 22:14
Baghdad - The US military has admitted that American soldiers killed civilians in a shooting on the heavily secured Baghdad airport road last month.
The statement issued on Sunday reverses earlier military claims that the three people killed were suspected militants who were believed to have opened fire on a parked American convoy.
The US military says an investigation shows the soldiers shot at the civilians' vehicle when it failed to follow orders to stop as it approached the convoy.
It says "soldiers located at the rear of the convoy perceived the rapidly approaching vehicle as a threat and executed established escalation of force measures".
Iraqi officials have said the two women and one man killed were bank employees.
- AP