Explained: How the killing of a 15-year-old Iraqi girl by US troops exposes the Western media’s double standards

Zainab Essam Majed al-Khazali was killed by a stray bullet when US troops were conducting military drills in Baghdad. The death of Zainab Essam Majed al-Khazali On 20 September, 15-year-old Iraqi Zainab Essam Majed al-Khazali was killed by US gunfire while they were conducting military drills on Victoria Base, near Baghdad International Airport. — خلية الإعلام الأمني🇮🇶 September 20, 2022 Iraq’s security forces was quoted as telling TheCradle, “The killing of Zainab Essam Majed coincided with the presence of training operations for the American forces… the bullet that was taken out of the girl’s head confirms that it is from one of the weapons used by the American forces in the embassy and airport.” The head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq resistance group, Qais al-Khazali, demanded via Twitter that “intelligence services present a detailed report to the Iraqi people, explaining this cowardly incident, and how a military base can exist on Iraqi soil in clear violation of the Iraqi constitution… and sovereignty.” Khazali also condemned the use of live ammunition in the US training and drill exercises, which he said were carried out in a residential area with a disregard for civilian life. The New York Times wrote about “the death on Friday of a 22-year-old woman in Iran after she was detained by the morality police,” claiming that “morality police units arbitrarily enforce the rules, and their tactics range from verbal notices to monetary fines, to violently dragging women into vans for detention.” Similarly, France24, The Guardian and other Western media outlets reported on Amini’s death while staying completely mum on the 15-year-old’s killing in Iraq. pic.twitter.com/o31F16wTH1 — Hadi Nasrallah September 21, 2022 Another user, going by the handle @anteneh_asnake pointed out on Twitter, “If a non-Western nation rather than US had committed this crime, the world would have gone insane.” Some analysts have pointed out that the lack of reporting on the death of the 15-year-old is part of the West’s attempts of pushing anti-Iran propaganda — at a time when the country is still trying to revive its nuclear deal.