Baghdad marketplace not a target Published March 26, 2003 By Capt. Sam Highley Air Force Print News WASHINGTON -- A Baghdad marketplace reportedly rocked by an explosion killing 14 people was not targeted by coalition forces, Defense Department officials said March 26 during a Pentagon press briefing.Army Maj. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, vice director for operations on the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, said coalition forces did not aim at the northern Baghdad Al-Shaab market, nor were any bombs or missiles dropped or fired near there."We know for a fact that something landed in the Shaab district," McChrystal said. "We'll continue to look to see if we missed anything, but another explanation could be that (Iraqi anti-aircraft artillery) fire or a surface-to-air missile missed its target (and) fell back into the marketplace area."Victoria Clarke, assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, said the coalition's objective is to put an end to the rule of Saddam Hussein's regime with as few casualties as possible."We go to extraordinary efforts to reduce the likelihood of those casualties," Clarke said, noting that an extensive targeting process is followed to hit only regime and military targets.However, the Iraqi regime has shown a pattern of behavior proving they "could not care less" about the Iraqi people's lives, she said."(It is) a sign of the brutality of this regime ... that they put military assets close to civilians ... deliberately putting their lives at risk," Clarke said. "Any casualty that occurs is the direct result of Saddam Hussein's policies."Nearly 700 sorties were flown by coalition air forces March 25, most against Iraqi regime targets in the vicinity of Baghdad, as well as those countering missile threats throughout southern and western Iraq, McChrystal said. Since March 20, he said coalition forces have dropped more than 4,300 precision-guided weapons.