The Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre ( ar, مجزرة حفلة عرس مكر الذيب) refers to the U.S. military's attack on a wedding party in Mukaradeeb, a small village in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

near the border with

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, on 19 May 2004. 42 civilians were killed.

Incident

The wedding brought together members of the Rakat and Sabah families: Ashad Rakat was the groom and Rutba Sabah the bride. Witnesses report that the American bombing started at 3 am. Witness at the wedding said that guests had fired weapons into the air. The attack begun at 2:45am from the air. Local accounts state that 42 people, including 11 women and 14 children, were killed during the incident. Iraqi officials reported 13 children among the dead. 27 members of the extended Rakat family were killed. Following the attack, U.S. officials stated that the location was a "suspected foreign fighter safe house." They stated that "anti-coalition forces" fired first, and that they returned fire killing numerous insurgents and destroying many vehicles. They further said that weapons, foreign passports and money, and a radio were recovered.

Reaction

The U.S. military took the stance that the location was a legitimate target.

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointe ...

Mark Kimmitt Mark Traecey Patrick Kimmitt (born 21 June 1954) is the former Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs, serving under George W. Bush from August 2008 to January 2009; he was the 16th person to hold the post. Prior to joini ...

, the coalition deputy chief of staff for U.S. operations in Iraq: "We took ground fire and we returned fire. We estimate that around 40 were killed. But we operated within our

rules of engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pro ...

." U.S. fire included both bullets and bombs, leaving behind craters.AP
Iraq Wedding-Party Video Backs Survivors' Claims
" 24 May 2004 In the aftermath, Kimmitt said, "There was no evidence of a wedding: no decorations, no

musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...

s found, no large quantities of food or leftover servings one would expect from a wedding celebration. There may have been some kind of celebration. Bad people have celebrations, too."

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

James Mattis asserted that even the idea of a wedding was implausible, "How many people go to the middle of the desert ... to hold a wedding 80 miles (130km) from the nearest civilization? These were more than two dozen military-age males. Let's not be naive." The Rakats and the Sabahs were residents of Mukaradeeb. Mattis later added that it had taken him 30 seconds to deliberate on bombing the location. Video footage obtained by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...

contradicts this. The video shows a series of scenes of a wedding celebration, and footage from the following day shows fragments of musical instruments, pots and pans and brightly colored beddings used for celebrations, scattered around a destroyed tent. Despite evidence against U.S. military, its generals refused to apologize for the actions.

References

External links

* http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1223563,00.html * http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20040521_1.htm {{Iraq War, state=collapsed 2004 in Iraq Attacks on weddings Civilian casualties in the Iraq War Iraq–United States relations Iraq War May 2004 events in Iraq May 2004 crimes Massacres in 2004 Massacres in Iraq Occupation of Iraq War crimes in Iraq United States military war crimes

Incident

Reaction

See also

Incidents

References

External links