U.S. forces killed gunman in self defense in Baiji – source

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: U.S. troops killed a man in Baiji in self-defense, said a U.S. source, explaining that the man is an amir (senior member) of al-Qaeda Organization in the area. “The forces entered a neighborhood at al-Qayiara area of Baiji (35 km) north of Tikrit, to track down some accomplices of a detainee,” Lt. Colonel Braen Maki told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The forces came under fire from a man with a pistol when they went inside a house,” he said. “The force responded and killed him,” he added. “The force later identified the man as a wanted person for being an amir of al-Qaeda Organization in Baiji,” he noted. Maki added that the house was empty when the incident took place but from two men who were arrested for interrogation. Earlier, a source from Salah al-Din police said U.S. forces handed over the body of a man who was shot dead to the Iraqi police in Baiji city, claiming that he was a gunman who attacked a U.S. patrol that killed him, but the dead man’s relatives said that the forces killed him in front of his family. Tikrit, the capital city of Salah al-Din province, lies 175 km north of Baghdad. MH (S)/AmR 1