US soldiers shot and killed two Iraqi policemen embroiled in a family feud in the northern city of Kirkuk after mistaking them for assailants, the US military said today.
A military spokeswoman said soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade were sent to respond to reports on Friday that two families were fighting. When they arrived, they saw two men carrying weapons and wearing long coats firing at a house.
"As the soldiers approached, the men attempted to flee," said Major Josslyn Aberle of the 4th Infantry Division.
"The soldiers pursued them, shouting warnings and firing warning shots but the men did not respond. They killed one outright and another died before reaching hospital," she said. A third man was unharmed.
"It later turned out all three were policemen," she said.
It is not the first time US forces have mistakenly killed members of the Iraqi police or other local security forces.
In December, three policemen were shot dead and two were wounded in the northern city of Kirkuk when US troops fired on a checkpoint after apparently mistaking the men for bandits.