Turkish driver shot dead by US troops in Iraq - TV

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20505256.htm

ANKARA, June 20 (Reuters) - A Turkish truck driver was shot dead and two other men were wounded by U.S. troops after failing to stop at a checkpoint near Baghdad, Turkish television reported on Sunday.

A U.S. embassy spokesman in Ankara said he could not confirm the shootings, which CNN Turk said happened on Thursday evening, and was seeking more information. Turkish officials were not immediately available for comment.

NTV television said the truck had been driving from Falluja to Baghdad carrying prefabricated housing units destined for U.S. troops and had failed to stop in time at a checkpoint.

It gave the dead driver's name as Faysal Demir and said his colleague, another Turk named Ali Musluoglu, and an Iraqi interpreter were wounded in the incident. The two Turks worked for the Tepe Construction Company, NTV said.

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[Judi Lynn]

1. We probably would never have heard, either, had he simply been Iraqii.

No way can he be labeled an "insurgent," or "terrarist." He was a brown-skinned man, that's all. He wasn't trying to blow the checkpoint, he wasn't a "homicide bomber," he was WORKING FOR THE U.S.'s SIDE.

You feel absolutely sick, overwhelmed. If you were a right-winger, you'd already be tossing it off. "Well, how'd THEY know who he wuz?"

From the reuters article:

NTV quoted Musluoglu as saying the U.S. soldiers had fired at the truck without warning and that he and the interpreter had been saved by Iraqi police.

A number of Turkish companies are involved in reconstruction projects in Iraq.

A Turkish truck driver bringing supplies from Kuwait to the U.S. forces was taken prisoner by Iraqi insurgents in Falluja in early June but released on Thursday.
(snip)

Thanks for the article, Don. Very sad, even though he wasn't an Amurkan.


He wasn't my enemy. Rest in peace.

[Kagemusha]

2. So the US is taking sides in the truck driver war.

Cute.

[bahrbearian]

3. He wasn't a Hailliburton Driver ? Well that explains it,

trying to muscle into Cheneys cut.