Back to Ishaqi: Mass Death in the Fog of War

In the American account, unspecified "Coalition forces" ("There are some units we don't talk about," the U.S. spokesman said when asked for details) killed 20 "al-Qaeda fighters" and support personnel, including two women, in a raid involving ground troops and an airstrike on two houses in the village. In the account given by Ishaqi's mayor and other officials at the scene, the airstrike wiped out most of two extended families in the village, killing 19 civilians, including seven women and eight children. Local officials supplied the names of 17 of the alleged victims. Western agency reporters at the scene said most of the bodies were charred beyond recognition, but that at least two children were identifiable among the corpses.
I hope to have more on the case, and its implications, in a day or two.
*Post updated with new information.*
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