Three bombs kill 7 in Iraq
2005-01-03 16:18
Baghdad - Two separate suicide car bomb attacks - one near the prime minister's party headquarters in Baghdad - killed at least six Iraqi security troops and one civilian, and injured 39 other people on Monday as insurgents pressed their deadly campaign to disrupt national elections.
A third car bomb exploded later on Monday at a US-manned checkpoint to the Green Zone, the heavily fortified area that houses the US Embassy and Iraqi government offices, US Embassy spokesperson Bob Callahan said. US troops surrounded a burning SUV at the scene.
Iraqi police Lieutenant Khalid Mohammed said the bomb targeted a US convoy and there were casualties at the checkpoint, which is the main Green Zone exit for trips to Baghdad International Airport west of the city. American contractors and diplomats commonly make the journey along the dangerous airport road in SUVs.
The first strike by an explosive-laden car near interim prime minister Ayad Allawi's party headquarters killed two police officers and one civilian and injured 25 others. The secular Shiite leader was not inside the building in Baghdad's western district of Harithiya when the blast occurred, his aides said.
The second attack took place in Balad, about 80km north of the capital, killing four Iraqi National Guard Soldiers and wounding 14, US military spokesperson Neal E O'Brien said. The driver of the car bomb died in the blast.
"Anti-Iraqi forces continue to target the Iraqi National Guard" because the ING is creating conditions for "successful elections," O'Brien said. "Every day they (the ING) get stronger and take more responsibility for security in Iraq."
Car bombings have become a standard feature of the deadly insurgency in Iraq ahead of the elections scheduled for January 30. On Sunday, a car bombing also in Balad killed at least 22 national guardsmen and their bus driver. Ten other people were killed in separate attacks on Sunday.
US officials have warned of violence ahead of the landmark vote for a national assembly, and the guerrillas have made good on those fears with tragic ease. Iraq's poorly equipped security forces usually have far less training than American troops, and attacks on them usually result in more casualties.
- AP