'Rogue' US pilots knowingly opened fire on Brits?
Disturbing news from UK's The Guardian ...
And some people still say that Pat Tillman's death was as cut-and-dry as our government claims.
Hm.
Somehow I doubt that.
Inquest told of 'rogue' US attack on British convoy
Wednesday January 31, 2007
A group of British soldiers yesterday described their frantic attempts to stop an attack on their convoy by "rogue" US warplanes that left one dead and four injured.
[...]
Yesterday his colleagues told the court that the "friendly fire" incident had happened on a clear day as they patrolled an area about 30 miles north-west of Basra.
Staff Corporal Ashley Bell said there had been a flash as the first attack started. He had immediately radioed forward air control with the "Stop, stop, stop" instruction but had been told the planes were being flown by "rogue US pilots".
"[The controller] could not contact the US pilots because they had switched frequencies and were talking to each other."
Soldiers in the five-vehicle convoy released smoke canisters to identify them to friendly pilots. The smoke was visible as one of the planes returned at low level and attacked a second time.
[...]
The Oxfordshire assistant deputy coroner, Andrew Walker, said the gunner was suffering from a large leg wound. L/Cpl Finney, then a trooper with just one year's experience, pulled him out of the burning vehicle and gave him medical treatment.
As he did so, he was aware that a type of smoke used by coalition forces to indicate a friendly fire incident had been released. "I was still with my gunner on the floor at this point, and the plane came back into view to start its second run."
[...]
Despite requests by the coroner and the British government, the pilots of the US planes that shot Corporal Hull have never been publicly named and will not attend the inquest.
And some people still say that Pat Tillman's death was as cut-and-dry as our government claims.
Hm.
Somehow I doubt that.
Labels: friendly fire, Iraq
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