3 killed in Baghdad blast
2003-12-05 11:30
Baghdad - At least three Iraqis were killed and 13 wounded in an explosion in a crowded shopping street near a mosque in south Baghdad on Friday, hospital staff reported.
Karim Abdullah Muslim, head of the emergency room at the al-Kindi hospital , said: "About 10 this morning we received three dead, who have not been identified, and 13 wounded. Earlier reports had estimated 20 casualties.
"Two or three of them are seriously wounded. The rest are slight injuries.
"A woman was among the dead and three women were also wounded. Two children were lightly injured."
Mohammad Ibrahim, accident and emergency nurse, stressed the toll was from his hospital alone and other casualties may have been taken elsewhere.
Witnesses said the blast happened as a US convoy was passing and reported seeing at least one US soldier covered in blood and as many as three hurt before the convoy drove away.
Meanwhile, in Mishada, 30km north of the capital, AP reports that the US military said a fire that engulfed an armoured personnel carrier was an accident, not an attack.
Witnesses had described a guerrilla attack, but Captain Brian Ridely said the explosion was caused by a faulty heater, which caused ammunition inside the vehicle to explode. There were no casualties, Ridely said. - AP/AFP