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US apologises for sparking Iraq ire

REUTERS, Baghdad
The US Army said yesterday it had apologised for provoking furious protests in a Baghdad slum neighbourhood, but Shia residents vowed more violence unless American troops withdrew from the district.
Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, the senior commander in Iraq, said American troops had shot dead one Iraqi and wounded four after coming under attack Wednesday when thousands of Shias took to the streets of Sadr City
in northeast Baghdad.
The protest was sparked when a US helicopter flew close to the flag of a religious school hung from a communications tower. Locals said the helicopter crew tore the banner down, but the military said the banner was blown off by accident.
In the angry scenes that followed, Sanchez said, a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) was fired at US troops.
"The demonstration was about 3,000 people when we sent the unit to investigate," Sanchez told a news
conference.
"The unit came under fire by small arms and actually an RPG was fired also from the crowd. Our unit returned fire and it wound up killing the RPG gunner and they wounded four others."
In a letter distributed to locals, Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Hoffman apologized and promised an investigation.
"We deeply regret what has happened today. What occurred was a mistake and was not directed
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against the people of Sadr City," the letter said. "I am personally investigating this incident and will punish those responsible. We offer to treat the four wounded citizens at Coalition medical facilities."
But residents vowed more protests, and a local sheikh said American troops would face violence unless they withdrew.
"The apology is not enough," Qais Hadi Khazali told Reuters. "We cannot control the situation. It is very tense. If the soldiers care first of all about their own welfare, and secondly about the welfare of Iraq, they must leave Sadr City."
SHIAANGER
Tensions in Shi'ite areas have added to the problems of the US-led administration in Iraq, which is already facing a guerrilla campaignin Baghdad and the surrounding Sunni Muslim areas, from where Saddam Hussein drew much of his support.
The US military said Thursday 60 of its soldiers had been killed in attacks since May 1, raising the total to take into account wounded soldiers who later died.
Most Shi'ites in Iraq say they were oppressed by Saddam Hussein, a Sunni, and welcomed his overthrow.
But some powerful Shi'ite clerics have spoken out against the occupation, and anger is also brewing in mainly Shia southern Iraq due to chronic fuel and electricity shortages.