IRAQ: IRAQI MAN, WOUNDED BY US SOLDIER, IS NOT SURPRISED A FREED ITALIAN HOSTAGE WAS SHOT AT ON HER WAY OUT OF THE COUNTRY
Record ID:
647821
IRAQ: IRAQI MAN, WOUNDED BY US SOLDIER, IS NOT SURPRISED A FREED ITALIAN HOSTAGE WAS SHOT AT ON HER WAY OUT OF THE COUNTRY
- Title: IRAQ: IRAQI MAN, WOUNDED BY US SOLDIER, IS NOT SURPRISED A FREED ITALIAN HOSTAGE WAS SHOT AT ON HER WAY OUT OF THE COUNTRY
- Date: 6th March 2005
- Summary: (BN10) BAGHDAD, IRAQ (MARCH 6, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. SHADOW OF IRAQI MAN, JADAT ABD AL-KADHUM, WHO LOST HIS LEFT LEG AFTER BEING SHOT BY US SOLDIERS A YEAR PREVIOUSLY 0.06 2. CU AL KHADUM'S CRUTCHES AND HIS AMPUTATED LEG 0.13 3. MCU/LV/SLV AL-KADHUM WALKING PAST AN IRAQI POLICE CHECKPOINT (3 SHOTS) 0.28 4. SLV AL-KADHUM WALKING BETWEEN HIS FRIENDS IN A FOOTBALL FIELD (2 SHOTS) 0.41 5. MCU (Arabic) IRAQI MAN, JADAT ABD AL-KADHUM, WHO LOST HIS LEFT LEG AFTER BEING SHOT BY US SOLDIERS A YEAR PREVIOUSLY SAYING: "I am scared because now there is no security, there are American and Iraqi police checkpoints and the Americans can no longer distinguish between the journalist, the civilians and families, they fire at any one without distinguishing between the terrorist and the civilian and I wish I was not in Iraq now," 1.08 6. SLV/SV AL-KADHUM WITH CRUTCHES GOING UPSTAIRS IN HIS HOUSE (2 SHOTS) 1.25 7. SV AL-KADHUM WALKING INTO HIS BEDROOM/ SITTING ON BED 1.36 8. MCU (Arabic) JAWDAT ABD AL-KADHUM, SAYING: "While I was driving my car on the road I saw an American convoy so I kept at a distance from the convoy. Suddenly there was an explosion, I did not know what it was exactly, I did not know if the Americans were hit, but the Americans started shooting randomly everywhere. We were behind them and they fired at my car. When my car was hit, I lost consciousness and I was taken to hospital." 2.11 9. PICTURE SHOWING AL-KADHUM WITH GROUP OF FRIENDS 2.16 10. CU AL-KADHUM IN HIS ROOM 2.20 11. MCU (Arabic) AL-KADHUM, SAYING: "I left hospital and came back home and every time my friends come to visit me I feel very sad because I used to go out with them. I love sports and I used to go out with them to play football, but the fact that they come and go now without being able to go out with them hurts" 2.39 12. SV AL-KADHUM LOOKING AT PICTURES 2.44 13. MCU (Arabic) AL-KADHUM, SAYING: " Yes, yesterday I heard about the Italian journalist who was shot by the Americans. It is very normal for the Americans. It is normal for the Americans to shoot any one, whether they are journalists or ordinary people walking in the street." 3.03 14. SV AL-KADHUM SITTING ON BED LOOKING AT HIS AMPUTATED LEG 3.08 15. MCU (Arabic) Al-KADHUM, SAYING: "Now when I see an American convoy I remember the shooting, so I stop until it has gone and left my sight and they continue driving, because I remember what happened to me" 3.28 16. SLV AL-KADHUM SITTING BETWEEN HIS GRANDFATHER AND GRANDMOTHERS/ Al-KADHIM'S WIFE WALKING INTO ROOM 3.38 17. MCU Al-KADHUM AND HIS WIFE 3.43 18. MCU (Arabic) AL-KADHUM'S GRANDFATHER KAMIL KHUDHIER ALWAN, SAYING; "Saddam and America, we have fallen in between Saddam and America and this is the result. His leg was amputated. Before he was a source of income for his mother, his three sisters and his brother. He was a construction worker and he earned money to support his family" 4.15 19. SV/SLV Al-KADHUM TALKING TO HIS WIFE WHILE WATERING GARDEN (2 SHOTS) 4.27 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 21st March 2005 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: BAGHDAD,IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Reuters ID: LVABRP1WWJ04H3ADBVPZWTU55X1B
- Story Text: Iraqi man, wounded by US soldier on a street of
Baghdad, is not surprised a freed Italian hostage was shot
at on her way out of the country.
Jawdat Abd al-Kadhum is a shadow of his former
self, walking on crutches through the streets of Iraq's
capital Baghdad, after losing a leg to the American troops
still occupying his country.
He was not surprised that U.S. soldiers opened fire on
Friday night (March 4) at a car carrying a freed Italian
hostage to safety.
One year ago American soldiers fired a bullet into his
leg from a convoy travelling ahead of him.
The 23-year-old says fear, confusion and
misunderstandings on all sides have made Baghdad roads
perilous.
As he talks about the current situation and the lack of
safety in his own city he says he wishes he was somewhere
else.
"I am scared because now there is no security, there are
American and Iraqi police checkpoints and the Americans can
no longer distinguish between the journalist, the civilians
and families, they fire at any one without distinguishing
between the terrorist and the civilian and I wish I was not
in Iraq now," said al-Kadhum.
Many have a tale to tell of someone they know that has
been shot at, killed or harassed by U.S. forces in convoys
or at checkpoints dotted across the country. Security
contractors, whose numbers have risen as relentless and
often indiscriminate violence grips Iraq, are accused of
being trigger-happy.
Al-Khadum describes what happened to him saying
essentially he lost his leg because he was at the wrong
placed at the wrong time. But it is a very high price to
pay for an innocent drive across town.
"While I was driving my car on the road I saw an
American convoy so I kept at a distance from the convoy.
Suddenly there was an explosion, I did not know what it was
exactly, I did not know if the Americans were hit, but the
Americans started shooting randomly everywhere. We were
behind them and they fired at my car. When my car was hit,
I lost consciousness and I was taken to hospital,"
al-Khadum says.
The incident has changed Al-Kadhum's life for ever.
He used to be a keen footballer, a popular sport in
Iraq where children play day and night in the middle of the
city's streets.
Al-Khadum says he can't spend as much time with his
friends any more now he can no longer play.
"I left hospital and came back home and every time my
friends come to visit me I feel very sad because I used to
go out with them. I love sports and I used to go out with
them to play football, but the fact that they come and go
now without being able to go out with them hurts,"
al-Khadum says.
But the killing of secret service agent Nicola
Calipari, who was instrumental in gaining Italian
journalist Giuliana Sgrena's release from kidnappers, has
underlined what is already known to many here: U.S.
checkpoints or convoys should be avoided.
"Yes, yesterday I heard about the Italian journalist who
was shot by the Americans. It is very normal for the
Americans. It is normal for the Americans to shoot any one,
whether they are journalists or ordinary people walking in
the street," he said.
The U.S. military says it cannot discuss the rules of
engagement -- procedure for dealing with threats from
suicide bombers or car bombs -- due to "operational
security issues".
But ex-army officers say cars should be at least 50
metres away from any convoy, never overtake and that if a
car speeds towards a checkpoint soldiers will shoot at the
engine block to make sure the vehicle comes to a standstill.
They say unnecessary shootings happen when hand signals
(a fist to stay back) or linguistic misunderstandings take
place. Cultural differences can also prompt panic --
driving slowly for an Iraqi is not necessarily the same for
an American.
Al-Kadhum thought he knew the rules. He was taking his
uncle who suffers from kidney disease to hospital just
miles away from their home in al-Ghazaliyah in west
Baghdad. He says they were a safe distance from the convoy.
His car was shot. A bullet went through his knee. He
tried to press the hole to stop the bleeding but then lost
consciousness.
In hospital, his leg was amputated just above the knee.
Now he says he makes sure that any car he is in stops when
a U.S. military convoy transporting soldiers or
equipment nears.
"... When I see an American convoy I remember the
shooting, so I stop until it has gone and left my sight and
they continue driving, because I remember what happened to
me," al-Khadoum said.
His grandfather, Kamil Khudhier Alwan, says Iraqis have
swapped one miserable life under deposed Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein for another under US military occupation.
"Saddam and America, we have fallen in between Saddam
and America and this is the result. His leg was amputated.
Before he was a source of income for his mother, his three
sisters and his brother. He was a construction worker and
he earned money to support his family," he said.
Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena said on Sunday (March
6) that U.S. forces may have deliberately targeted her
because Washington opposed Italy's policy of dealing with
kidnappers.
She offered no evidence for her claim, but the
sentiment reflected growing anger in Italy over the conduct
of the war, which has claimed more than 20 Italian lives,
including the secret agent who rescued her moments before
being killed.
With a far higher number of Iraqis killed or wounded in
accidental shootings by coalition soldiers and so-called
friendly fire, it is not hard to see how Iraqi anger and
resentment against occupation would be growing at a far
greater pace.
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