CIA drone strikes target mourners at funerals and rescue workers

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. Not entirely unprecedented.

When al Sadr first came to prominence there was a massive operation in a Shia cemetery. People leaping/sniping literally from gravestone to gravestone. It took the Iraqi Ayetollah basically telling al Sadr to settle the f*** down to end it before the US moved in and shot-up the shrine to finish off the last of them.

I don't know if having ground troops do it instead of drones is "fairer" but I'm informed by others that while cemeteries, hospitals, civilian homes et al are generally considered "protected." HOWEVER, if an enemy is using a protected site as a fighting position it loses its protection and the enemy is actually legally liable under the laws of war. Of course al Sadr was using a cemetery as a fighting position, just standing around in a cemetery is a non-hostile act. I'd hate to think our current CinC *might* be doing more than just loosening the Rules of Engagement.