|
Missiles claim lives in market
26/03/2003 14:48 - (SA)
Baghdad - Fourteen Iraqis were killed and at least 30 wounded on Wednesday when at least two US-British missiles struck a Baghdad residential area, civil defence forces said.
The missiles hit "the city of the people" in northern Baghdad about 11:30 (10:30 SA time), the director of civil defence in the district, Hamad Abdallah al-Dulaimi said.
The missiles crashed into buildings occupied by car mechanics' garages on the ground floor and private apartments above.
Dulaimi said at least 17 vehicles were incinerated in the raid.
The attack came amid a number of coalition attacks on the Iraqi capital.
Meanwhile, the outside wall of the Rashid Hotel, Baghdad's most celebrated hotel which for years has lodged visiting foreign dignitaries, was partially destroyed Wednesday morning by a missile, an AFP journalist said.
A 10m stretch of wall was destroyed. The main building of the Rashid Hotel is about 200m away across the car park.
Debris was scattered along the pavement of the neighbourhood, which is home to a number of official buildings.
The Rashid Hotel, which towers over the district, has long been the residence of foreign journalists in Baghdad.
It became famous after the 1991 Gulf war for a mosaic portrait of the first US president George Bush, father of the current American leader, set into the entrance, forcing all visitors to walk over it.
Most journalists have left the Rashid Hotel for security reasons amid the week-old US and British offensive to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
A hotel employee, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile hit anout 05:00 (04:00 SA time) and that no one was injured.
The impact was close to a small police post where uniformed men were stationed.
Since the war erupted one week ago, a number of US and British missiles have hit targets in which the military strategy was not immediately evident and killed civilians. - Sapa-AFP
|
News
