Checkpoints test US troops' rules

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Checkpoints test US troops' rules
Checkpoints test US troops' rules

Soldiers have split-second decisions to make
The row over the shooting of Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena by US soldiers has fuelled a debate over the rules of engagement under which they operate.

The journalist was wounded by US gunfire minutes after being released from her month-long ordeal as a hostage in Iraq.

But the incident, in which a senior Italian secret service agent who had negotiated Ms Sgrena's release was killed, was just the latest in a series.