Please, in the name of heaven, don't let this be true...

A disgusting article from Knight Ridder. The story notes that such claims are not out of the ordinary, but that this one is unusual in that the sourcing is more reliable.

The story is that U.S. troops lined up 11 people and executed them, because one of them (a visitor in the house) was a member of al Qaeda. The dead included a 75 year old woman and five children ranging from 6 months to 5 years old.

The sad part is that the Military doesn't dispute the deaths of the 10 innocents along with the one al Qaeda, they simply claim that in the firefight the house was so badly damaged that it collapsed on the 11 people. Witnesses (including the local police who were willing to be named, which is what makes the story unusual and more credible) say that in spite of the official story, troops made their way into the house BEFORE it collapsed, lined up all inside and shot them.

I hope it isn't true. I have a sneaking suspicion it is. We'll probably never know.

Liam.