9 killed in west Iraq blast

2004-06-16 18:29

Baghdad - Nine people were killed, including four foreigners, and 10 wounded when a vehicle was targeted in a blast on Wednesday in the restive town of Ramadi in western Iraq, an Iraqi doctor said.

"We have the bodies of five Iraqis and four foreigners," said Mohammed Jalal, a doctor in the neighbouring town of Fallujah, 50km west of Baghdad. "In addition, 10 injured Iraqis were admitted to our hospital."

The doctor, speaking to AFP by telephone, was unable to determine the nationality of the dead foreigners.

Citing the local rescue services, he added that the four had been travelling in an all-terrain vehicle, favoured by the US-led coalition in Iraq, that was badly damaged in the explosion.

At the same time, the US military said a roadside bomb exploded as a coalition convoy was travelling along a road in eastern Ramadi at around 08:45.

Six Iraqis injured

Six Iraqis, including a police officer, were injured, but there were no coalition casualties, said a spokesperson for the marines, who operate in the area.

It was unclear whether the two reports were about the same attack, which followed Monday's suicide car bombing on a coalition convoy in Baghdad that killed 13 people, including five foreigners, and wounded 69.

"The IED (Improvised Explosive Device) was blown up when civilian traffic was in the immediate area," said the spokesperson, Eric Knap, contacted by email.

US marines arrested six members of the Iraqi Civil Defence Corps (ICDC) on suspicion of involvement in the bombing along with a civilian who ran out of a nearby building after the blast carrying hand grenades, and two other locals, a military spokeswoman said.

The nine were taken to a coalition base for questioning.

The military spokesperson said the device was contained in a fuel drum, which sprayed burning fuel and oil on several nearby cars when it exploded.

A witness, also contacted by telephone, said an explosion took place at 09:30 in front of a mosque in the centre of Ramadi.

"After hearing the explosion we ran to the site and saw corpses and injured people," said merchant Mohammed Jabr.

Jabr said the explosion was caused by a roadside bomb, adding that security services soon arrived at the scene.

A second witness, Samir Hammadi, said he believed the bomb had been placed between oil cans that were being sold on the roadside.

Ramadi, near the rebel bastion of Fallujah, has been a hotbed of insurgency against the coalition. During heavy clashes in April, some troops from the US-trained ICDC defected to join insurgents.

- AFP