Iraqi shepherd seeks compensation for dead sheep

An Iraqi shepherd is seeking US$200 million ($345 million) in damages from the United States military for the deaths of 17 members of his family and 200 sheep in a missile strike, in the first such suit filed through the courts of the US-led Administration.

The first hearing will take place on July 20 at the tribunal of Ramadi, 100km west of Baghdad.

"The trial will be Iraq's first against US troops because we believe they used excessive force against the Iraqi people who co-operated with the US to topple Saddam Hussein's regime," Abud Sarhan's lawyer said.

Lawyer Rabah al-Alwani was approached by Sarhan, 71, to file a suit against US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and General Tommy Franks, commander of US forces in Iraq, after the shepherd claimed a US missile landed on his tent on April 4.

Days before, Sarhan had left his home village of Al-Altash, near an Iraqi military base that was heavily bombed by coalition warplanes.

He had set up a tent in the nearby desert to host 20 of his family members and relatives in three distinct sections, one for women, one for men and the other for children. His half-brother Hamad Sarhan, 25, was wounded in the attack.


Herald Feature: Iraq