Iraq's prime minister denounced a deadly U.S. raid on Sunday as a "crime" that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts. The U.S. military, however, said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance - in accordance with the rules that took effect this year governing U.S. battlefield conduct.
According to the AP, the pre-dawn raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut ended with at least one woman dead after being caught in gunfire and six suspects arrested for alleged links to Shiite militia factions.
The six detainees were freed, said Major Gen. Read Shakir Jawdat, head of the provincial police that includes Kut. At the same news conference, U.S. Col. Richard Francey offered condolences to the family of the woman killed.
A statement from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the raid a "violation of the security pact." He asked the U.S. military "to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts," according to an Iraqi security official.
In Kut, protests and questions began just hours after the sweep, which the U.S. military said targeted suspected backers of Shiite militias believed to have links to Iran. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at the mosque in Kut, about 160 kilometers southeast of Baghdad, to decry the American action and demand an investigation.
The provincial council then called an emergency meeting and a three-day mourning period. The Iraqi Defense Ministry also ordered the arrest of two high-ranking Iraqi officers for their alleged roles in allowing U.S. forces to operate in Kut. "We condemn this crime," said Mahmoud al-Etaibi, head of the council.
Iraq's military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, described it as the "first violation after signing the security pact." The Defense Ministry spokesman, Mohammed al-Askari, said an Iraqi brigade commander and a battalion commander were arrested for "allowing American troops to conduct a military operation in Kut province without informing the Iraqi government or coordinating with it."
The U.S. military said its troops acted within the framework of the security pact, saying "the operation was fully coordinated and approved by the Iraqi government."
Elsewhere in Iraq, gunmen stormed two Christian homes in separate attacks in the city of Kirkuk, killing at least two Chaldean Christians and one Assyrian, said police Brig. Burham Taib.
