Reuters AlertNet Lite - U.S. colonel shot while surveying Baghdad wall

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U.S. colonel shot while surveying Baghdad wall

07 May 2007 17:55:02 GMT
Source: Reuters

BAGHDAD, May 7 (Reuters) - A U.S. combat brigade commander was shot by a sniper while surveying the construction of a wall to protect a Sunni Arab enclave in Baghdad, the U.S. military said on Monday.

Colonel Billy Don Farris, commander of the 2nd "Falcon" Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, was shot in eastern Adhamiya on May 3, a statement said.

Farris, who was hit by a single bullet, was evacuated from the area and is in stable condition.

Initial plans to build a controversial 5-km (3-mile) wall with concrete barriers up to 12 feet (3.5 metres) high drew bitter complaints from residents in Adhamiya, which is surrounded on three sides by Shi'ite districts.

They said the project would isolate them from other communities and sharpen sectarian tensions.

Shi'ite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki ordered a halt to its construction. The Iraqi military later said it was modifying the plan to use barbed wire and smaller cement barriers instead.

The temporary barrier is one of a number being built in Baghdad as part of a three-month-old security plan aimed at halting sectarian violence and protecting neighbourhoods and markets.

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Last updated:Mon May 7 17:56:49 2007