1 January 3rd, 2006 1:53 pm U.S. Air Strike Kills Iraqi Family of 12 Attack Was Directed at Suspected Bombers, U.S. Military Says By A Washington Post Special Correspondent TIKRIT, Iraq, Jan. 3 -- A U.S. air strike that Americans said was directed at suspected bombers killed a family of 12 in their home north of Baghdad Monday night, Iraqi officials said Tuesday. A Washington Post special correspondent watched as rescuers removed the bodies of women and children still in their nightclothes. Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, confirmed the air strike in the Baiji area, about 155 miles north of the capital, but said he had no immediate information on casualties. In a statement, the U.S. military said an unmanned drone in the area had tracked three men digging in a road about 9 p.m. Monday. Insurgents commonly plant bombs in such craters to catch passing convoys of U.S. and Iraqi officials. The military called in air support, tracked the three men as they entered a building nearby and attacked the building with precision-guided munitions, the military said. Maj. Abdul Jabbar Kaissi, a security officer with Salahuddin governorate, said the air strike killed the 12-member family of Ghadban Nahi Kaissi, a farmer and relative of the governor of Salahuddin province, Ahmad Mahmud Kaissi. U.S. forces surrounded the area Tuesday morning as bulldozers removed rubble and emergency crews pulled out bodies. The Post special correspondent watched as crews removed the bloody body of an older woman, her head covered in a black scarf, and two younger women in nightclothes with their heads uncovered for sleep. Rescuers brought out the bodies of three boys on their thin mattresses. They were wrapped in the blankets in which search teams said the boys had been sleeping when the explosives hit. The boys appeared younger than 10. Residents and Iraqi officials said there were no insurgents in the home. The area is one where insurgents are present and stage frequent attacks. Six other houses in the area were damaged, and two residents wounded, authorities said. U.S. air strikes in Iraq increased almost five-fold over the course of 2005, going from 25 last January to 120 in November. The U.S. military says it uses only precision-guided munitions and makes every effort to minimize civilian casualties. Critics say civilian casualties are almost inevitable in air strikes in cities and towns, and they fault the military for not tracking civilian deaths from those strikes to better learn how to reduce them.

2 You left out he part where we found an IED in the area where these men were digging Mr. Sucks. So rather than blame us maybe the men who planted the bomb put these people in danger. So there were no "men" in the house just women and Children. Likely story.

3 Get me the ISP of this idiot.

4 Collateral damage - unfortunate - but I can live with it. I would like to know if we "wacked" the two targets - I'd be a little pissed if we "missed". Those missiles cost good money.

5 Oh forgot - thats a lot of damage for one precision missile (possibly a Hellfire) - any "secondary" explosions - or is that too fuckin' much info to ask for?

6 Fortunately reverting to said type of action is relatively rare (always collateral risks - try to avoid). Fortunately HK Nightcrawler activities has become "extremely" successful.

7 Heh. NO JIHAD FOR JOO!!!

8 ... and there is no MSM out on the road at 3 in the morning all by their lonesome in the middle of nowhere.

9 9/11 was collateral damage hondo. msm won't leave the green zone.

10 Gee Whiz! Sooooo brilliant! I have absolutely no problem with you, libs, & leftists proclaiming that loudly and proudly throughout America from sea to shining sea. I'll even buy you a bullhorn for that brilliance. Please do with my blessing.