December 9th, 1958
“53 archeologists killed in Iraqi rebel attack.”
AL
AMARAH, Iraq -- A team of U.S. archeologists excavating ruins in a
war-torn Iraq were killed Monday when a group of Iraqi rebels bombed
the site, officials said. This was the third such incident involving the death of
foreign civilians in Iraq this year.
“It is a horrible tragedy that clearly reveals the callous
brutality of these rebels,” warned Ahmad
al-Bahir, former adjutant to King
Faisal II. “The rebels
must be put down for the sake of the Hashemite monarchy and the people
of Iraq.”
Civil
War broke out earlier in the year as a group of high-ranking army
officers led a revolt to overthrow the government.
The rebels claim the archeological site was a secret military
base established by the English government to support the Hashemite
monarchy.
"We
have had no military involvement in internal Iraqi affairs since they
gained independence in 1932," a government statement quoted
England’s Minister of Foreign Affairs as saying.
39 English and 14 American
scientists perished in the attack, including Dr. Anthony Hochard and
his wife, June.
