American soldier killed in a plane crash, demonstration in Baghdad
Hundreds of worshippers yesterday came out of Ibn Temeyah mosque ( former Um al-Toboul) in a demonstration that deplored the breaking-in into the mosque on Thursday by the American occupation forces.
The demonstrators called for the release of 24 persons arrested by these forces in the mosque, including among them the representative of al-Salafeyah trend in the Sunni Shoura council, Mahdi al-Sumeida'e. The demonstrators chanted slogans against the Americans. The deputy chairman of the higher commission for "al-Dawa, al-Irshad and al-fatwa" in Iraq denied in a statement that the American soldiers to have had found any weapons or bombs during the inspection operation. He accused these forces of damaging the contents of the mosque. The American forces justified the operation based on information given by the Iraqis on existance ofweapons in the mosque, including dynamites and explosives. Gen. Mark Kemet said that the American forces actually found these weapons, and denied that these forces torn Koran copies and damaged the contents of the mosque.
Meantime, one American soldier was killed and another wounded, when an American helicopter crashed in al-Falouja city, to the west of Baghdad.
A spokeswoman for the American army said that the helicopter fell today ( yesterday), but gave no further details about the incident. She indicated that an investigation was opened to find the reason behind the crash. Witnesses said that the American forces closed the area immediately after the incident, and started an inspection campaign in the city in search of what was thought to be Iraqi resistance men.
In a separate incident one American soldier was killed and other 6 wounded on Wednesday, in a truck accident near Baghdad's airport.
In a later development, one Iraqi citizen was killed by the bullets of the American soldiers who opened fire indiscriminately at a sedan car, following the blowing up of an explosion targeting an American military vehicle near al-Ramadi city, to the west of Iraq.
Witnesses said that the explosion resulted in wounding American soldiers and the burning of an oil tank. The Americans blocked the highway and carried out an inspection campaign in search of other explosives.
Earlier, the American military leadership announced the detention of four persons including one person described as a foreigner, and is accused of facilitating the entry of foreign fighters to Iraq. The detention took place in al-Ratbah city, in al-Anbar governorate.
The occupation forces also detained persons said to be terrorists, in Baqouba city to the northern east of Baghdad.