A pre-dawn raid involving U.S. forces left at least one person dead in southern Iraq on Sunday, prompting local officials to demand an investigation, Associated Press reported. The raid set off a protest by hundreds of people who gathered outside the morgue in the city of Kut, and the provincial council later called for an inquiry. The U.S. military said its forces took part in the raid and that a woman was killed, but gave no other details. The military also could not immediately confirm whether it was a joint U.S.-Iraqi operation. Kut is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Baghdad. The military said the woman was in the area during an exchange of fire and was struck by gunfire. «A coalition forces medic treated her on site, but she died of her wounds before she could be evacuated,» the military said. Iraqi police officials say the wife and brother of a local clan leader were killed. They also say the clan leader, Ahmed Abdul Muneim al-Bdeir, and six others were arrested. The provincial council called an emergency meeting and a three-day mourning period. «We condemn this crime,» said Mahmoud al Etaibi, head of the council. The U.S. military said the raid was in compliance with a U.S.-Iraqi security pact, which requires American operations to be conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government and other authorities. Kut provincial police chief, Brig. Gen. Raed Shakir Jawdat, said he was unaware a raid was conducted. Spokesmen for the ministries of defense and interior also said they had no knowledge of the raid.
