According to Lt. Col. Ziyad al-Jbouri, deputy police chief of Ramadi, the provincial capital about 400 km to the east, 42 to 45 people died, including 15 children and 10 women. Dr. Salah al-Ani, who works at a hospital in Ramadi, put the death toll at 45.

U.S. Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt acknowledged May 22 that six women were among 41 people killed in the attack targeted at foreign fighters.

"There are some inconsistencies. We remain open-minded about this. We will continue to look into everything that is provided to us in the way of evidence," the military spokesman said.

Kimmitt said U.S. forces who scoured the area of the combined ground and air attack had found "no evidence of a wedding," but did not rule out some other kind of social gathering.

"Bad people have parties too and it may have . . . just been a meeting in the middle of the desert by some people that were conducting either criminal or terrorist activities," he said.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 29, 2004
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