BAGHDAD – Iraq’s prime minister termed a deadly U.S. raid on Sunday as a “crime” that violated the security pact with Washington and demanded American commanders hand over those responsible to face possible trial in Iraqi courts.
The U.S. military, however, strongly denied that it overstepped its bounds and said it notified Iraqi authorities in advance – in accordance with the rules that took effect this year governing U.S. battlefield conduct.
The pre-dawn raid in the southern Shiite city of Kut ended with at least one woman dead after she was caught in gunfire and with six suspects arrested for alleged links to Shiite militia factions.
But efforts were quickly launched to tone down the dispute.
The six detainees were released, said Major Gen. Read Shakir Jawdat, head of the provincial police that includes Kut.
A statement from Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the raid a “violation of the security pact.”
He asked the U.S. military “to release the detainees and hand over those responsible for this crime to the courts,” according to an Iraqi security official who read the statement to The Associated Press.
Iraq’s military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, described it as the “first violation after signing the security pact.”