U.S. soldiers find 24 emaciated boys in Baghdad orphanage

Twenty-four “severely malnourished” boys were found in an orphanage in Baghdad by U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. Many of the children were tied to their beds and so weak they were unable to stand. Pictures were taken of naked children lying on the floor or tied to their crib. Photographs were also taken of an American soldier giving a boy water and medics examining the children.

An Iraqi Cabinet minister accused the soldiers of fabrication of the photos and say the reports are inaccurate.

"We totally reject the tricks they used to manipulate and distort facts and show the Americans as the humanitarian party. That could not be further from the truth," said Minister Mahmoud Mohammed al-Radhi.

The minister went on to say that the boys were saved from death on the streets after their families abandoned them. He said all the boys were severely handicapped. U.S. military officials reported the boys ranged in age from 3 to 15 and they found them is a room with no windows, lying around naked. Soldiers found a supply room nearby full of food and clothing.

U.S. soldiers found the orphanage on June 10 with three women and two men inside. The two men were identified as the director and guard of the facility. The three women claim they were the caretakers of the children.

Iraqi Health Ministry inspector general Adel Muhsin said three employees who have gone into hiding have arrest warrants against them. “I was shocked to see the images. We never expected that the people entrusted to take care of them would be so mean,” Muhsin said.

U.S. medics were called to examine and treat the children before they were transferred to another orphanage. Ten new workers were hired to care for the children.

Cabinet minister al-Rahdi said the U.S. soldiers should be questioned because he believes the soldiers set up the images and fabricated the story to make themselves look good.

"They are our children not the Americans'," al-Radhi said "It's a media fabrication exploited by forces opposed to the government."

Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks said: "We're very grateful that this story unfolded the way that it did, that none of these 24 boys lost their lives. This is a story of partnership, courageous action and compassion overcoming deplorable negligence.”

It has been said that Iraqi children have suffered the most since violence has erupted in Iraq.

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