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US and British warplanes Tuesday attacked two buses from Baghdad to Amman, Jordan carrying American and European citizens as part of the human shields voluntarily defending Baghdad, wounding a number of them, Iraqi Information Minister Mohammad Said al-Sahhaf said.
Sahhaf said the incident took place in the western town of Rutba between Baghdad and neighboring Jordan. He said that those wounded have been taken to hospitals in Rutba.
However, al-Sahhaf gave no more details of casualties.
"These were human shields who were coming to Baghdad to be deployed...many of them were injured and taken to hospital at Rutba," he said, "The brave Americans start shooting Americans."
Hundreds of Western peace activists went to Iraq before the war to show their support for the Iraqi people in the weeks leading up to the US-led invasion.
Around 120 human shields are still in Iraq, scattered around nine sites near Baghdad, including an oil refinery, a food silo, a water treatment plant and power stations. However, the number of human shields is constantly changing as some have returned home and others are still arriving to replace them.
(Xinhua News Agency April 1, 2003)
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