More on that "Mosque" Raid

From MNF-I

The Iraqi Special Forces commander who led a weekend raid on a kidnapping cell in Baghdad spoke with Time magazine March 29. Local media had made an assertion earlier in the week identifying the location of the operation as a mosque. However, according to Iraqi and U.S. official reports, the targeted complex was six blocks away from the closest mosque, the Mustafa Mosque. “The target was a Baghdad office complex used by an armed militia and not a mosque,” the unidentified commander said.

U.S. military officials have insisted no mosque was entered nor damaged in the raid, and that those describing the raid as a massacre faked evidence by moving bodies of gunmen killed fighting the Iraqi troops.

A hostage freed in the operation confirmed the U.S. and Iraqi Special Operations Forces account, contradicting claims that U.S. and Iraqi troops targeted a Shiite mosque and killed unarmed worshipers.

“The scene … was altered for propaganda reasons,” said Lt. Gen. Peter Chiarelli, commander of Multi-National Force - Iraq. "After the fact, someone went in and made the scene look different than it was."

In his weekly press conference from Baghdad March 30, Multi-National Force - Iraq spokesman Maj. General Rick Lynch detailed the Iraqi-led operation that freed one Iraqi hostage, killed 16 fighters and captured 18 more. He praised Iraqi Special Operation Forces, calling their planning and execution of the weekend raid “flawless.”

A reporter asked if the operation had been a mistake, considering the building contained a possible hussinaya, or prayer room. “Not at all,” said Lynch, adding, “Ask the hostage if it was a mistake.”

Previous post - examining this in it's broader context - here.