Angry mourners swarmed this central Iraqi city Saturday, firing into the air, attacking journalists and cursing the American occupation as they followed the flag-draped coffins of eight Iraqi police killed in a friendly fire incident involving U.S. troops.
The U.S. military apologized Saturday for the shooting that killed nine people the eight Iraqis and a Jordanian guard and badly damaged a hospital. U.S. troops only opened fire after they were attacked "by unknown forces," the military said.
The U.S. military issued an apology for the shooting and said an investigation had begun. However, military spokesman Lt. Col. George Krivo said the Americans only fired after they were "attacked from a truck by unknown forces."
"Coalition forces," he said, "immediately returned fire and the subsequent engagement lasted approximately three hours. Regrettably during the incident extensive damage was done to the (Jordanian) hospital and several security personnel were killed, including eight Iraqis and one Jordanian national."
The military, he said, wished "to express our deepest regret for this incident to the families who have lost loved ones and express our sincerest condolences."
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