BAGHDAD, January 23, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – In their search for kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll, US occupation forces in Iraq pay little, if any, attention to the grave sufferings their hostile tactics cause to Iraqis.

As with much of their so-called "counter-insurgency war", US forces face the dilemma that their tactics can further fuel anti-US sentiments in the occupied Arab country.

"My son was in the garden so I went around the back door to see what was happening and suddenly American soldiers pointed rifles at us," Hamdiya Sabri, 55, told Reuters of her son Jassim, 23.

She was telling Reuters, in a typical instance, how her Nazih family was humiliated and terrorized by the US forces hunting for Carroll.

She said they heard movements in their garden just after midnight. But they had no time to check, according to Reuters.

"Then all of a sudden we heard an explosion. They blew open the front door and fired stun grenades into the living room. They rounded us up and threw me on the floor and a soldier put me on the floor and kept his boot on my back. Why?"

Two of her other sons told Reuters US troops asked if they knew anything about the neighbors and then they asked about Carroll, the 28-year-old reporter for the Christian Science Monitor.

"They told us that they had a tip that the American journalist was being held in this area and asked me what I thought of her," Thamir Nazih, 40, told Reuters.

"I said I was sympathetic about Jill Carroll and that she is innocent. Then they asked me if I knew any terrorists – this only after they stormed the house and humiliated my family."

Apology


After the search, a US soldier promised $300 compensation and apologized, saying troops had acted on a faulty tip, reported Reuters.

The soldiers took away Jassim, the youngest son of the family, saying he would be questioned and freed in a day or two.

The soldiers then descended on the Nazihs' neighbors in the Ghazaliya section of Baghdad, where, according to Reuters, anti-occupation elements are active.

"They barged into our home then they pulled me by the hair. I kept telling them we had a baby. Then a soldier went into the room where my brother was sleeping near the baby and they punched my brother in the face," Hubaab Hamid told Reuters.

After searching the house, the soldiers told her that two of her brothers would be detained for questioning.

"I asked how long they would be away. They said they would be freed if they are innocent. I asked where they would be held and the Iraqi translator just laughed at me," she added.

Some 14,000 people are currently held by US forces on suspicion of resistance activity. Thousands more have been released without charge, often after many months in detention.

Hamid told Reuters that one soldier showed compassion.

"I looked up and he had tears in his eyes as he was watching them humiliate my sisters and me," she said.

"Then he gave us a blanket and he apologized."

Challenge


The US occupation forces, on the other hand, defended their often botched tactics.

Lieutenant Colonel Barry Johnson, chief spokesman for the US military, told Reuters troops risk putting the lives of hostages and themselves in danger if they do not move quickly.

"Speed is essential in any raid. It may scare or inconvenience people but it is necessary in an environment where we are fighting insurgents and terrorists. If houses are damaged we have a comprehensive compensation program," he said.

In one US raid, shortly after the reporter was seized January 7, one of Baghdad's biggest Sunni mosques was targeted. According to Reuters, the sight of troops descending on ropes from helicopters and storming through the compound infuriated Sunni political leaders and drew condemnation from the United Nations envoy to Iraq.

Meanwhile, hectic efforts to free the US journalist continued, with representatives of a leading US Muslim rights group in Baghdad for that end.

There has been no word since Tuesday from the kidnappers, who are demanding America release all female Iraqi prisoners, according to CNN.

"We are the only people who have come from outside of Iraq to call for Jill's release, and we are very hopeful they will hear our message on behalf of American Muslims," Nihad Awad, the Council on American-Islamic Relation's executive director, told CNN Saturday.

Sunni political leaders and scholars also urged the release of Carroll.

"I call for them to release her. She is a woman who strived for Iraq, defending Iraq and Iraqis, condemning war on Iraq," Adnan Al-Dulaimi, head of the General Conference of the Iraqi People told reporters at a news conference carried on Arab satellite channels. "She is here to cover Iraq's news and bring it out to the world."

An Iraqi deputy justice minister, Bosho Ibrahim Ali, told CNN he had visited and spoken with nine women detained without charges by US troops in Iraq. He said he expects six of the women to released soon and is working on securing the release of the three others.