Zim doctor wounded in Iraq

2004-04-30 07:20

Amara, Iraq - A Zimbawean doctor working for the coalition and his Iraqi bodyguard were wounded on Thursday when gunmen opened fire on their car in the southern city of Amara, the bodyguard told reporters.

The attackers sprayed the vehicle of a demining team with automatic gunfire after they had returned from a mission outside the city, 370km southeast of Baghdad, said Dakhel Mohsen Hachem.

The Zimbawean doctor was wounded in the left leg and evacuated by British forces to one of their Missane province bases, he said.

Hachem himself was hit by several bullets and doctors said he was in a serious condition.

Amara is patrolled by British troops, who have clashed occasionally with backers of radical Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada Sadr.

- AFP