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UNITED NATIONS, July 1 (Reuters) - Iraq's U.N. ambassador accused U.S. Marines
on Friday of firing at and killing his cousin in cold blood during a house raid
near the western town of Haditha on June 25.
Ambassador Samir Sumaidaie, a supporter of the United States, said Mohammed
al-Sumaidaie, the son of his first cousin, was shot by Marines during a raid
at his father's house in the village of Al-Shaikh Hadid, near a U.S. military
base at the Haditha Dam.
"All indications point to a killing of an unarmed innocent civilian --
a cold blooded murder," Sumaidaie said.
Sumaidaie, in a telephone conversation with Reuters and a lengthy written statement,
called for an investigation of the killing, saying outrage over the incident
could jeopardize public support for the U.S. led reconstruction of Iraq.
The U.S. military said in a statement from Iraq that the events described in
the allegations "roughly correspond to an incident involving coalition
forces on that day in that general location."
"We take these allegations seriously and will thoroughly investigate this
incident to determine what happened," said Maj. Gen. Stephen T. Johnson.
