LOS ANGELES TIMES REPORTS: IRAQ AUTHORITIES SAY U.S. SOLDIERS KILLED 9 CIVILIANS

Nine Iraqi civilians were killed Wednesday in two armed clashes involving U.S. soldiers, local authorities reported. The military said U.S. soldiers were fired upon first in both incidents.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iraq26-2008jun26,0,680763.story
From the Los Angeles Times
By Doug SmithLos Angeles Times Staff WriterJune 26, 2008BAGHDAD
Thanks to Citizens for Legimate Government http://www.legitgov.org/ for heads up on this story.

In the capital, three people were killed in a fiery crash after gunfire erupted as their vehicle passed U.S. soldiers with a convoy stopped near the Baghdad international airport to recover a stalled vehicle.Officials at Yarmouk Hospital identified the dead as a manager and two female employees from a bank at the airport.

Iraqi police also reported that two bodyguards were injured.A statement from the U.S. military characterized the three as criminals who opened fire on the military convoy about 9 a.m.

The statement said that the assault left bullet holes in the U.S. vehicles and that a weapon was recovered from the wreckage.The conflicting information in the two reports could not be immediately reconciled.

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