Shots Fired From Convoy Set an Iraqi Mob to Action

BAGHDAD, Nov. 20 -- The bullet tore through a red jacket that hung on the rack of the outdoor stall and struck Roba Taha in the foot. As her blood began to spill onto the sidewalk, so did the anger of scores of shopkeepers along this busy commercial street in Baghdad's Karrada neighborhood on Monday.

Some rushed the high school student to the hospital. Most rushed to a high-walled white dump truck to confront the driver, who allegedly fired several shots. Residents standing on their balconies yelled out that men were hiding in the bed of the truck. Frank Leever, 28, an Iraqi Christian shopkeeper, clambered up the back of the vehicle. "They are Afghanis. They are terrorists," he recalled shouting.

The mob closed in, hurling rocks and accusations.

Monday's incident offered a window into the collective psyche of a capital that is experiencing a lull in violence not seen since February 2006, when the bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra triggered cycles of sectarian killings. Many Iraqis said they rose up against the truck driver and the men in the truck to preserve the gains in security Iraqis are enjoying. They also said they were anxious that violence could return, as it has many times since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.

Large swaths of Baghdad remain no-go zones for most Iraqis, as they were before thousands of U.S. reinforcements began arriving nine months ago in an effort to bring stability. But in enclaves like Karrada, life is returning to a kind of normalcy, although bombings, gun battles and assassinations are still threats. Iraqis have long shown a determination to hold on to ordinary rituals amid instability and chaos.

"I love my country," said Ali al-Abadi, who was helping Taha in his shop when the bullet struck her, and who took her to the hospital. "I want stability to be regained."

That's the reason many shopkeepers said they attacked the truck.

"All this joy will be turned to sadness," said Hussein al-Esaadi, 21, who works in a cellphone store. "We did this because each of those men will kill 30 more people."

In fact, the men in the truck's bed were neither Afghans nor terrorists. An Interior Ministry spokesman, Brig. Gen. Abdul Kareem Khalaf, said they were workers from Nepal, Sri Lanka and India. Their contracts had expired, and they were being escorted by a security convoy to the airport.

In a cellphone video provided to The Washington Post, Iraqi soldiers appear to be beating the contractors with sticks or clubs as the crowd of Iraqis cheers them on. Some Iraqis also rushed to the truck and appeared to throw punches at the contractors.

"When they reached the intersection, they ran into a traffic jam. The security guards opened fired randomly. A woman was hurt in her leg. So we arrested all of them. Now, we're investigating them," Khalaf said.

In total, U.S. military and Iraqi officials said, 43 people were arrested: 21 Sri Lankans, 1 Indian and 9 Nepalese contractors, 10 Iraqi security guards and 2 Fijian guards. The two Fijian guards had U.S. Defense Department identity cards, according to Maj. Brad Leighton.