Bomb targets Australian convoy

2004-10-25 10:17

Baghdad - A car bomb exploded near an Australian military convoy in Baghdad on Monday, killing two Iraqis, as the authorities probed the mass killing of almost 50 new soldiers in one of the bloodiest attacks against the country's fledgling security forces.

The execution-style killing of the unarmed soldiers in eastern Iraq claimed by a group linked to Iraq's most wanted men, Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi, dealt another blow to efforts by the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to restore order ahead of national elections promised by January.

In Baghdad, a vehicle was detonated by remote control as an Australian convoy was passing through a residential district on its way to the heavily-fortified Green Zone that houses Iraq's seat of government and the US embassy, a US military spokesperson said.

"There were two civilian casualties, dead, two Australian soldiers slightly wounded," he said.

"I was at the intersection nearby when the suicide bomber crossed through a military convoy and blew himself up," said one policeman. "I saw one armoured truck damaged and two lifeless bodies as well as several wounded."

"Warning, warning!" US soldiers shouted through a loudspeaker. "A criminal group has blown up a suicide car bomb against the multinational forces causing civilian casualties, please go back there might be secondary explosives."

Rude awakening

The attack was another rude awakening for Iraqis after the weekend massacre of 49 new army recruits, who were gunned down execution-style in eastern Iraq, and a twin suicide car bombing against Iraqi police and national guards that killed 20.

- AFP