A shooting in the northern city of Mosul left three people dead and at least 11 wounded Wednesday, a day after at least 10 Iraqis were killed by U.S. troops trying to stop an angry crowd from scaling a wall and storming a government complex.
Several of those wounded in Wednesday's incident accused American troops of firing at them from rooftops, but a Marine sergeant near the scene denied that and said Americans on a rooftop had returned gunfire from another roof, AP reported.
The incident appeared to have taken place at an open market about 300 to 400 yards from the governor-general's office.
Mohammed Rabih Sheet, an administrator at Jumhuriya Hospital, in Mosul said three people had been killed and 11 were wounded, including two children.
Six of the wounded who spoke to a reporter said Americans had shot them.
An eyewitness said he had seen the Americans shooting at people. Five men were hit and taken to a hospital, he said.
"There were people inside the central bank, which is next door to the governor's office," he said. "They had been looting money for several days. Police were standing outside the bank and fired shots in the air to disperse the looters. The Americans started firing at the people in front of the governor's office," he said, rather than at the looters.
Reports of Tuesday's shooting quoted witnesses as saying American forces shot and killed as many as 10 people and wounded scores when a crowd became unruly during a speech by the city's new governor-general outside his office.
Meanwhile, U.S. special forces Wednesday raided the Baghdad home of a microbiologist nicknamed "Dr. Germ" who ran Iraq's secret biological laboratory.
The special force raid, backed by about 40 Marines with machine guns, was carried out at the home of Rihab Taha, in charge of a laboratory that weaponized anthrax. Troops brought out boxes of documents and three men with their hands up.
Taha is the wife of Gen. Amer Mohammed Rashid, Iraq's former oil minister.
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
