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Angry mourners vow revenge against US troops in Fallujah
FALLUJAH, Iraq, Sept 13 (AFP) - Angry gunfire crackled through the city of Fallujah on Saturday with heavily-armed tribesmen vowing vengeance on US troops for a "friendly fire" incident that killed nine Iraqi security personnel.
A chorus of Kalashnikovs reverberated around the city as the bodies of the dead were brought to the Hamad al-Mahmud Mosque, opposite police headquarters, for a funeral and burial.
Mourners gathered under tribal banners where they vowed to avenge their lost loved ones -- one policeman and eight security guards who were among 12 killed Friday after US troops opened fire on a highspeed police chase.
"We will keep your blood warm with the blood of the American killers," they chanted.
Many of the scores of gunmen wore masks. A few carried rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launchers.
An appeal over the mosque loudspeaker to stop firing in order to avoid accidental casualties brought a brief respite. But as another shrouded body was carried aloft through the streets the firing immediately resumed.
Immediately after the funeral, a group of masked men carrying RPGs and describing themselves as anti-US resistance forces spoke briefly to reporters, reciting verses from the Koran before issuing a chilling warning.
"We will conduct an operation tonight to avenge the martyrs," one said.
Amid the hails of gunfire, sheikhs and Bedouin tribesmen dressed in black cloaks and white flowing robes paid their respects.
The wooden caskets, covered in the Iraqi flag, were carried out of the Hamad al-Mahmud Mosque after the main afternoon prayers and paraded through the centre of Fallujah as pickups loaded with armed tribesmen cruised the town.
Masked men with RPGs riding pillion on the back of motorbikes followed the cortege.
Onlookers said the men were members of the anti-US resistance in Fallujah, a bastion of support for Saddam Hussein's regime which has seen determined opposition to the US-led occupation virtually since the dictator's ouster.
The US military apologised earlier Saturday for the shootings.
"The senior military leadership of the coalition has been in contact with the Jordanian military and Iraqi authorities to express our deep regrets and apologies," Lieutenant Colonel George Krivo read from a statement.
"We wish to express our deep regrets for this incident to the families who have lost loved ones," said Krivo, the coalition's chief military spokesman. He said an investigation had been launched.
Also killed were two suspected thieves and a Jordanian security guard. Nine were wounded in the shooting.
Three days of mourning have been declared and a "major" strike called for Sunday.
Two US helicopters were briefly visible hovering from a distance but there were no troops on the ground and there was no attempt to enforce the ban on weapons in the street, issued by the coalition in June.
District patrol chief Lieutenant Colonel Jalal Sabri paid tribute to the independence of his forces and their success in catching criminals.
"We've always been independent because this a tribal area and ours is a very religious town," he said.
"That's why our patrols are independent and we've had major successes in our work capturing criminal gangs and infiltrators from outside, including bandits from foreign countries like Egypt and Iran."
Asked whether an agreement had been reached to keep US forces out of the area while the mourning ceremonies were underway, he said: "This is what we wished for, this is what we wanted from the beginning from them in Fallujah."
Enraged residents said they did not want the Fallujah mayor involved in the ceremony because his office was a symbol of the US occupation of Iraq.
Shortly before the first casket was delivered to the mosque, resident Majid Nasser Jassem al-Mahdidi said pro-Saddam locals would escalate their attacks against the Americans until they leave Iraq.
"The Americans came by force, they have stayed by force and they will leave by force," he said.
Mahdidi said the shootings highlighted how little regard the American troops had for the police in Fallujah because the dead men should have been easily recognised by the vehicles they were driving.
"The reason why they fired shots at the vehicles was because they want the police to fight the resistance, they won't do that, it's not their job, their job is to fight the criminals.
"That's why the Americans fired on our boys."
Fallujah has been the scene of repeated anti-coalition attacks since US troops shot dead at least 16 demonstrators in late April. This included at least three attacks on Friday.
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