At least four killed in Mosul shootings: hospital

MOSUL, Iraq (AFP) Apr 16, 2003
At least four people were killed and several others wounded Wednesday by gunshots near government buildings in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the second such incident in as many days, a hospital official told AFP.

"Four bodies have just been brought in," said Dr Riyadh Hamdi at the city's Al-Zahrawi hospital.

An AFP journalist saw two bodies arrive and two more in the morgue, while another doctor, Said Altah, said eight people were wounded.

One of the wounded, an Iraqi policeman, said police at a station a few hundred metres (yards) from the government buildings had opened fire to disperse looters trying to rob a bank.

He himself was then hit by gunfire.

According to other witnesses, later gunshots came from the roof of the government buildings, where US soldiers were posted.

US forces denied responsibility Tuesday after at least 12 people were shot dead in Mosul, where witnesses charged American troops fired on a crowd.

SPACE.WIRE