Thursday, 1 November 2007

Iraqis accuse US of putting sharks in the river after fisherman nets one 200km from sea


A two-metre shark has been caught in a river in southern Iraq more than 200 km (160 miles) from the sea.

Karim Hasan Thamir said he was fishing with his sons last week when they spotted a large fish thrashing about in his net. "I recognised the fish as a shark because I have seen one on a television programme," he said.

The shark was caught in the Euphrates - 200km from the sea

The shark was pulled from the mouth of an irrigation canal that joins the Euphrates River. The Euphrates joins the Tigris River further east to form the Shatt al-Arab waterway which flows south past Basra - where British troops are stationed - into the Gulf.

Locals blamed the U.S. military for the shark's presence.

Tahseen Ali, a teacher, said there was a "75 per cent chance" Americans had put the shark in the water.

Locals accused the US military of putting the shark there

"This is very frightening for us. Our children always swim in the river and I believe that there are more sharks. I believe that America is behind this matter," said fisherman Hatim Karim.

Dr. Mohamed Ajah, assistant dean of the college of science at Thi Qar University in Nassiriya, said barriers in river estuaries usually prevented sharks swimming upstream.

"In this case, I think this animal was there for a long time but no one had managed to see it," he said.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk
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The real problem is not whether or not US really put sharks into Tigris. The big problem is the chronic prejudice felt among majority Iraqis toward US.
This is rather understandable if we see that the many iraqis lifes has been shattered by US invasion. Many Iraqis glad to see Saddam dead, but that does not mean they would love US for a change.

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