Children killed as US troops fire on van at roadblock — by Catherine Philp

FIVE members of the same Iraqi family, three of them children under the age of 4, were shot dead yesterday when US troops opened fire on their minivan outside a military base, fearing a suicide car bomb attack. [...]

American troops are often accused by Iraqis of shooting at civilian vehicles at roadblocks and from convoys travelling among ordinary traffic; but checkpoints and convoys are frequently attacked by car bombers driving civilian vehicles. No such bombing has yet been carried out by a vehicle with multiple occupants. [...]

Click here for the full Times article (22 Nov 05).