An Iraqi shepherd launched a court case Sunday against top US military leaders after a US plane shelled his desert camp during the war to oust Saddam Hussein, killing 17 family members and 200 sheep.
Abud Sarhan, 71, issued lawsuits against US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Tommy Franks, the retired general who led US and British forces into Iraq, over the fatal April 4 bombing. The shepherd expressed hope that "the law runs its course and that the pilot who bombed the tent is (also) brought to justice and punished," adding that he expected compensation for his damages.
"I would have liked to die with them," said the tearful shepherd, surrounded by a large number of friends dressed in traditional head-to-toe dishdashas. Sarhan told the court he had left his house in Al Altach, a village in the Ramadi district, 100 kilometres west of Baghdad, and relocated to a desert camp on the advice of pamphlets dropped by US planes recommending them to leave the area, the site of heavy bombing because of a nearby military camp.
Jordan Times July 21 2003
