NcDeuce
12-28-2003, 11:11 AM
Baghdad Bomb Blast
By Luke Baker
BAGHDAD (*******) - A powerful roadside bomb blast in a central Baghdad shopping street killed a U.S. soldier and two Iraqi children on Sunday, a day after attacks in the holy city of Kerbala killed six foreign troops and 12 Iraqis.
Sunday's blast wounded at least 14 people including five U.S. soldiers, eight members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and an Iraqi translator working with troops, the U.S. Army said.
"A soldier from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and two Iraqi children standing nearby were killed when the IED (improvised explosive device) detonated as a convoy was passing," said Captain Jason Beck, a spokesman for the 1st Armored Division.
"At this stage we don't know how serious the injuries are."
Beck said the explosion occurred at around 10:15 a.m. (2:15 a.m. EST) when the streets of Baghdad's Karada district, a bustling area of shops and stalls, would have been crammed with people.
The attack raised to 211 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action since Washington declared major combat over on May 1. Attacks appear to be continuing at a consistent pace despite the capture of former dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) on December 13.
As part of efforts to wipe out the insurgency, U.S. forces launched overnight raids on suspected Saddam loyalists.
The raids came after guerrillas killed six foreign troops and 12 Iraqis in the holy city of Kerbala on Saturday, the biggest attack in Iraq (news - web sites) since the former president's arrest.
The Kerbala attacks also wounded 37 soldiers, including five Americans, and dealt another blow to nations that have answered the U.S. call to send troops to help stabilize Iraq.
However, Thailand said on Sunday it had no plans to withdraw medical and engineering troops from Iraq despite the deaths of two of its soldiers in the Kerbala attacks, which also killed four Bulgarian soldiers.
The attack involved suicide bombers, mortars and machineguns in a coordinated assault on two bases of the U.S.-led coalition and government offices housing local police, the head of a Polish-led force in southern Iraq said.
"This was a planned, coordinated and massed attack," the Polish PAP news agency quoted General Andrzej Tyszkiewicz as saying. "In all cases, the suicide drivers were shot dead before they could strike their targets."
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20031228/mdf435504.jpg
U.S. special forces stand guard at a police station hit by a bomb yesterday in the Iraqi city of Kerbala.
By Luke Baker
BAGHDAD (*******) - A powerful roadside bomb blast in a central Baghdad shopping street killed a U.S. soldier and two Iraqi children on Sunday, a day after attacks in the holy city of Kerbala killed six foreign troops and 12 Iraqis.
Sunday's blast wounded at least 14 people including five U.S. soldiers, eight members of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps and an Iraqi translator working with troops, the U.S. Army said.
"A soldier from the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment and two Iraqi children standing nearby were killed when the IED (improvised explosive device) detonated as a convoy was passing," said Captain Jason Beck, a spokesman for the 1st Armored Division.
"At this stage we don't know how serious the injuries are."
Beck said the explosion occurred at around 10:15 a.m. (2:15 a.m. EST) when the streets of Baghdad's Karada district, a bustling area of shops and stalls, would have been crammed with people.
The attack raised to 211 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action since Washington declared major combat over on May 1. Attacks appear to be continuing at a consistent pace despite the capture of former dictator Saddam Hussein (news - web sites) on December 13.
As part of efforts to wipe out the insurgency, U.S. forces launched overnight raids on suspected Saddam loyalists.
The raids came after guerrillas killed six foreign troops and 12 Iraqis in the holy city of Kerbala on Saturday, the biggest attack in Iraq (news - web sites) since the former president's arrest.
The Kerbala attacks also wounded 37 soldiers, including five Americans, and dealt another blow to nations that have answered the U.S. call to send troops to help stabilize Iraq.
However, Thailand said on Sunday it had no plans to withdraw medical and engineering troops from Iraq despite the deaths of two of its soldiers in the Kerbala attacks, which also killed four Bulgarian soldiers.
The attack involved suicide bombers, mortars and machineguns in a coordinated assault on two bases of the U.S.-led coalition and government offices housing local police, the head of a Polish-led force in southern Iraq said.
"This was a planned, coordinated and massed attack," the Polish PAP news agency quoted General Andrzej Tyszkiewicz as saying. "In all cases, the suicide drivers were shot dead before they could strike their targets."
http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/nm/20031228/mdf435504.jpg
U.S. special forces stand guard at a police station hit by a bomb yesterday in the Iraqi city of Kerbala.