Explosions in Baghdad near US compound

[Argyll]

http://www.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-1115061,00.html

In about an hour ago

[Vance]

I hope everyone is ok, that goes for the Iraqi civvies too. :)

[Fioraon]

Poor Iraqi's. They must be pretty pissed at a lot of the Arab world.

[Vance]

Let's not try to start a fight...

[cut]

Iraq Suicide Blast Kills 1 U.S. Soldier

Thursday December 11, 2003 7:16 PM


BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A car bomb driven by a suicide bomber blew up outside a U.S. Army base in the town of Ramadi on Thursday, killing one soldier and injuring 14 others, the military said.

The bomb was concealed in a truck that was delivering furniture to the base, and three Iraqis in the vehicle died in the explosion, a military spokeswoman said on condition of anonymity.

Three wounded soldiers were evacuated to a combat hospital and the other 11 injured were treated and returned to duty, the spokeswoman said.

The bomb detonated just outside the gate of the Army's ``Champion Base'' in Ramadi, 100 kilometers (60 miles) west of Baghdad, the spokesman said. The base is the headquarters for the 82nd Airborne Division.

The region around Ramadi and the nearby city of Fallujah is one of the most dangerous for coalition troops in Iraq. U.S. military convoys have been targeted by roadside bombs and small-arms fire, and soldiers have been killed.

On Tuesday, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up at the gates of two U.S. military bases north of Baghdad, wounding dozens of American soldiers but failing to inflict deadly casualties on the scale of recent attacks in Iraq.

Most of the soldiers were slightly hurt by debris and flying glass, indicating that massive defenses - sand barriers, high cement walls and numerous roadblocks leading to the entrances of bases - have paid off for American troops occupying Iraq.