Iraq
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
I
said the demonstration was ap
parently in celebration of
Saddam’s birthday.
Some townspeople, however,
said the crowd was objecting to
the presence of troops, while oth
ers said students wanted the sol
diers to leave the school so class
es could resume.
The shooting was the third
reported fatal Clash involving
U.S. troops and Iraqi protesters
in two weeks, underscoring the
problems that face soldiers as
they try to switch from fighting
to peacekeeping.
On April 15 and 16, Marines
opened fire during angry demon
strations in the northern city of
Mosul. Iraqis said 17 people were
killed there, though details re
mained unclear and the Marines
insisted they fired only in self
defense.
The shootings, widely re
ported by Arab news media,
have fueled resentment of the
U.S. military weeks after the
overthrow of Saddam Hussein’s
regime.
U.S. forces serving in the area
said they have been trained in
crowd control. About half the
company headquartered at the
school in Fallujah served in
Kosovo peacekeeping opera
tions, 2nd Lt. Devin Woods said. ,
It was unclear whether the
protest that sparked the shoot
ings grew from general animosi
ty toward Americans in
Fallujah, a city long considered a
stronghold of Saddam support
• and site of factories suspected of
having been involved in banned
weapons programs. It appeared
a clash of cultures, at least, was
involved.
Residents repeatedly de
nounced battalion members’ use
of binoculars and night-vision
goggles. They accused soldiers
of spying on women from the
school’s upper floors and
rooftop.
Monday night’s protest start
ed after evening prayers on
Saddam’s birthday, in the past
an occasion for weeklong cele
brations. Lt. Col. Eric Nantz said
the demonstration involved no
more than 200 people — an indi
cation, Nantz said, of support for
American forces.
Some protesters carried AK
47 assault rifles, Nantz said. U.S.
soldiers sent a loudspeaker
equipped truck to urge them to
stop firing into the air, he said.
As the chanting crowd milled
about, soldiers said, U.S. forces
used illumination rounds and a
smoke grenade to try to keep
gun-toting protesters away.
At one point, Nantz said, sol
diers sent out in an armored per
sonnel carrier fired two rounds
from a 50-caliber machine gun,
also in warning.
A company of the battalion’s
soldiers, 130 in all, had been
based in the school since late last
week.
Eventually, soldiers of the
company said, protesters closed
to within no more than 10 feet of
the schoolhouse wall. At that
point, U.S. forces said, three men
on a nearby roof fired into the
school.
“Everybody could see the
muzzle flashes,” said Sgt. Nkosi
Campbell, who commanded the
first Americans who fired.
Even then, soldiers exercised
restraint, Campbell said. “They
turned around and said, ‘Hey,
sergeant, can we shoot?’ And
that was when they were already
underfire.”
Nantz said soldiers fired
automatic weapons for 20 to
30 minutes. Because residents
carried away the dead and
wounded quickly, Bray said
troops had no idea about Iraqi
casualties overall.
STATE
More taxpayers
filing electronically
(AP) — South Carolina tax
payers who file electronically
have a little more time to file
state income tax returns with
out facing a penalty.
Electronic taxpayers can file
returns by computer or by tele
phone until midnight May 1.
The state Revenue Department
has extended the deadline for
the third year to encourage tax
payers to file electronically, ei
ther by computer or telephone.
About 109,000 more tax re
turns were filed electronically
this year than last year. That’s
a 13 percent increase.
Sixty-one percent — 914,004
— of state tax returns received
so far have been filed electron
ically. That number will likely
drop to 50 percent or less when
all returns are submitted, said
Revenue Department
spokesman Danny Brazell.
South Carolina became the
first state to offer an electron
ic filing program in 1991.
Senate considers
a variety of taxes
(AP) — As the Senate pre
pares to take up its $5.2 billion
state budget this week, some
lawmakers made final rallies
Tuesday against tax increases..
The Senate Finance
Committee’s version of the
budget brings in additional
revenue for schools by raising
the sales tax cap on cars, elim
inating a small sales tax break
for people 85 and older and
eliminating a tax break on
manufacturing equipment.
The Senate’s version also
supports a plan pushed by Gov.
Mark Sanford that would in
crease the state’s cigarette tax
to 60 cents a pack from 7 cents a
pack to pay for Medicaid pro
grams, while decreasing the
state’s income tax.
Sanford said that plan would
put more money into the pock
ets of small businesses and in
dividual taxpayers, while pro
viding a steady source of fund
ing for Medicaid.
i
NATION
Judge to rule on
Malvo’s confession
FAIRFAX, VA.(AP)-A judge
will rule in the next seven to 10
days on whether to toss out a
confession by sniper suspect Lee
Boyd Malvo that his attorneys
claim was obtained illegally.
A hearing on the confes
sion’s validity concluded
Tuesday. Before ruling, the
judge said she wanted time to
read the voluminous case law
dealing with a suspect’s right
to remain silent and right to a
lawyer.
Circuit Judge Jane Marum
Roush could throw out all or
part of the confession or retain
it in its entirety.
Malvo, 18, and John
Muhammad, 42, are accused in
at least 20 shootings. Both could
face the death penalty if con
victed.
Malvo confessed to some of
the shootings during a six-hour
interrogation on Nov. 7, just af
ter he was transferred from fed
eral custody to Virginia au
thorities.
But defense lawyers argued
that improprieties by police and
prosecutors conspired to keep
Malvo from his lawyers and that
Malvo’s request to speak to his
attorneys was ignored by police.
Democrats prepare
second filibuster
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate
Democrat's said Tuesday they
would filibuster another of
President Bush’s federal court
nominees, minutes after allow
ing the Senate to confirm a
Bush nominee who critics said
had worked to curtail the rights
of the disabled.
The new filibuster target will
be Priscilla Owen — a Texas
judge and home-state favorite of
the president’s—who was nom
inated for a seat on the 5th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in New
Orleans. Democrats have called
Owen an anti-abortion, pro-busi
ness judicial activist whose
opinions and rulings are overly
influenced by her personal be
liefs.
WORLD
Striking oil workers
take 97 hostages
LAGOS, NIGERIA (AP) -
Striking Nigerian oil workers
have seized 97 hostages, includ
ing 21 Americans, on several off
shore oil rigs, officials said
Tuesday. Some captives said they
feared armed rescue attempts
would end in disaster. '
There were conflicting reports
about whether the hostages had
been threatened. One wrote an e
mail that said the hostage-takers
warned they would blow up the
rigs if attacked, but oil officials
dismissed reports that any oil
workers had been threatened and
said the strikers appeared will
ing to give up.
The rigs, owned by Houston
based Transocean, were drilling
wells on behalf of oil multina
tionals Royal/Dutch Shell and
TotalFinaElf.
SARS travel warning
lifted from Toronto
GENEVA (AP) - The World
Health Organization lifted its
warning against nonessential
travel to Toronto because of SARS
on Tuesday, but in Asia the dis
ease continued its spread as Hong
Kong reported 12 new deaths,
China nine and Singapore one.
The global death toll from
SARS climbed to at least 355, with
more than 5,300 infections in
more than 20 countries, includ
ing probable cases reported for
the first time in South Korea,
Mongolia and New Zealand.
Travel warnings still stand for
Hong Kong, Beijing and two
Chinese provinces, as China’s
premier admitted his govern
ment failed to act quickly against
the disease.
In return for the WHO’s deci
sion, the Canadian government
promised to do more to prevent
the spread of SARS, or severe
acute respiratory syndrome, by
screening passengers leaving the
country.
WHO Director-General Gro
Harlem Brundtland said the ad
visory was lifted because there
had been no new outbreaks in the
community at large for 20 days.
■
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