Besides our own soldiers dying in Iraq, you don't hear much about the innocents still being killed and maimed along with the horrible tragedies constantly being created by this war.


Family Tragedy Shows Life Tough in Iraq
Fri Jul 25, 3:23 AM ET

By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

BAYJI, Iraq - In just a few seconds, an attack by U.S. forces killed Faheema Jassim Khalaf's mother and two sisters, tore apart her right leg below the knee and shattered her ankle.

Khalaf is too weak to talk for long, but what she was able to whisper as she lay on the floor of her home's living room on a recent day painted a disturbing picture of how easily lives are lost in an Iraq (news - web sites) embroiled in conflict more than three months after U.S.-led forces toppled Saddam Hussein (news - web sites).

The death of civilians is common in any conflict, and Iraq has not been an exception. But the Bayji killings underline the daily perils faced by ordinary Iraqis, even since the end of major combat on May 1, as they try to rebuild their lives.

The U.S. military says the Khalaf family was caught in the crossfire as troops fired at a suspect in a poor district of Bayji, a city about 145 miles north of Baghdad. Khalaf, 15, and her relatives told The Associated Press in extensive interviews that they were the only target in the May 30 attack....





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