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Car bomb kills two from SA
14/11/2005 14:59 - (SA)
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| The body of one of the two South Africans killed in a car bomb blast in Baghdad is carried away from the blast scene. (Hadi Mizban, AP) |
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Baghdad - Two South African contractors were killed when a suicide bomber blew up a booby-trapped car outside Baghdad's high-security Green Zone early on Monday, the US embassy and interior ministry reported.
The blast, which sent a plume of black smoke into the sky, occurred near one of the main entrances to the heavily-fortified Green Zone, home to the US and British embassies and to Iraqi government offices.
One witness said the bomber rammed the last of three civilian sports utility vehicles which were travelling in a convoy. Such vehicles are commonly used by security contractors for transporting high-ranking officials.
The blast killed two South African contractors and injured three others inside the car, embassy spokesperson Elizabeth Colton said.
Two of those injured, a South African and an Iraqi, were injured seriously, while an American also in the car escaped with lesser injuries, Colton said.
The Iraqi interior ministry earlier reported that three people had been killed in the blast at the entrance, nicknamed "Assassins' Gate" by US forces.
US forces immediately cordoned off the area, while Apache attack helicopters circled overhead.
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