By Abdul-Qadir Al-Saadi
Fallujah - American Marines shot and wounded an Iraqi man in the former flash point city of Fallujah believing he was throwing a grenade at them, the United States military said on Thursday - but local police and witnesses said the object was only the man's slipper.
During a joint patrol of US Marines and Iraqi security forces in Fallujah, 65km west of Baghdad, the man "threw an object, believed to be a grenade" at the passing troops on Wednesday afternoon, according to a US military statement.
"US forces fired in self-defence, wounding the attacker," the military said. "The convoy stopped, secured the area and began to render medical aid."
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'More bullets were fired and one hit me from behind' The man, Ahmed al-Jumaili, was rushed to a local hospital and was in stable condition there Thursday after being treated for a chest wound and two bullet grazes.
Although the incident came just a day after the Iraqi reporter who threw his shoes at former President George Bush was released from prison, al-Jumaili said he took off his leather slipper and threw it in a knee-jerk reaction to seeing the patrol.
"When I saw Americans patrolling the streets of Fallujah I lost my temper, I don't want to see them in Fallujah," he told The Associated Press. "Troops have withdrawn from cities so why they still patrolling here in Fallujah?"
Under the US-Iraqi security agreement, American forces ceased operating on their own in cities and towns earlier this summer but still go on joint patrols. The agreement calls for the withdrawal of American combat forces by the end of August 2010 and of all US troops by the end of the following year.
The US military did not say in its statement what the thrown object was, and in response to a request for clarification said the object had not been recovered.
"The Marines who saw the object thrown at the vehicle identified it as a grenade," spokesperson 1st Lieutenant Rachel Beatty said. "Because the suspected grenade was not recovered, we do not know why it had failed to function."
However, a Fallujah police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk with the press, said al-Jumaili had only thrown his slipper.
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