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And these are the people who were "happy" that they were "liberated" by the US.. HZ ----------------------------------- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=462874 Iraqi mayor backed by US is killed in dispute with guard By Mustafa Alrawi in Baghdad 12 November 2003 The American-nominated mayor of a volatile Shia Muslim section of Baghdad has been killed in a confrontation with Unites States troops, dealing a serious blow to efforts by the occupation authorities to win the trust of the local population. The death of Mohened Ghazi al-Kaby, 29, head of an interim council in Sadr City whose members were hand-picked by US officials, overshadowed an announcement yesterday by the Allied military commander, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez, that American forces had arrested about 20 people possibly connected with al-Qa'ida in the wake of recent attacks. An explosion killed six Iraqis yesterday in the southern city of Basra, on a road frequently used by British troops. Mr Kaby was shot dead on Sunday when he arrived at the interim council's headquarters for a meeting. According to the US military, the driver of a vehicle got into an argument with a soldier guarding the building, and refused to have his car searched in accordance with security procedures put in place after the wave of car bombings in the capital in recent weeks. He was shot in the leg by another soldier after he tried to grab the guard's rifle, and later died of his injuries, the US army said. Local witnesses denied this account yesterday, saying Mr Kaby was simply refused entry by a "new guard", who did not recognise him. They said the soldier pushed Mr Kaby, who spoke fluent English, several times. After the council head slapped the guard, a colleague opened fire. Swadi Salah, a member of the council who was phoned by Mr Kaby to come to the gate, said that there had been a delay in giving first aid. "The troops would not allow anyone to take him to hospital, saying we should wait for an ambulance," said Mr Salah. "The soldiers did not take him to one of two hospitals in the area. They took him to Rustamiya American field hospital, more than half an hour away. How can you explain that?" Although Sadr City was calm yesterday - Mr Kaby was not a member of the main Shia political groupings, and protests over his death were relatively small - the killing of a man who was trying to improve relations between the Americans and the impoverished people of the area is a setback the coalition cannot afford when there are fears of al-Qa'ida involvement in recent attacks. Lt-Gen Sanchez said no definite links to Osama bin Laden's network had yet been established. "At one point, we had up to about 20 suspected al-Qa'ida members, but as we have continued to refine and interrogate, we have not been able to establish definitively that they were al-Qa'ida members," he said. He did not say where they were held, when they were detained or whether any of them have been released. US officials have said they suspect foreign volunteers, including some from al-Qa'ida, have slipped into Iraq to take part in a "holy war" against the American-led occupation. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Protect your identity with Yahoo! Mail AddressGuard http://antispam.yahoo.com/whatsnewfree _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk