A rchive Date
[ 22-11-2003 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ Iraq ]
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[http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/World/2003/11/22/264960-ap.html
14 die in explosions near Baghdad
By Bassem Mroue
Sat, November 22, 2003
KHAN BANI SAAD, Iraq (AP) - Suicide attackers detonated two vehicles Saturday at police stations in towns northeast of Baghdad, and at least 14 people were killed, U.S. and Iraqi officials said.
In Baghdad, a cargo plane operated by the Belgium-based DHL landed Saturday at Baghdad International Airport with its wing ablaze, but the U.S. military said it was unclear if it had been struck by ground fire or suffered a technical problem.
The attacks on the police stations in Khan Bani Saad and nearby Baqouba - which occurred within a half hour - came after U.S. intelligence reports warning of an upsurge in attacks near the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which comes to a close in a few days.
In Khan Bani Saad, a market town on the northeastern outskirts of Baghdad, 10 people were killed, including six policemen, three civilians and the vehicle's driver, according to Capt. Ryan McCormick of the 4th Infantry Division. Iraqi police said one of the dead was a five-year-old girl. Ten people were wounded, McCormick said.
McCormick said a police guard fired on the approaching vehicle but could not stop the blast. He said there were no U.S. or other coalition casualties.
"I was standing at the gate of the station, washing my car, when I saw a Chevrolet Caprice speed toward the gate," said Sgt. Aqil Suheil, who was wounded in the Khan Bani Saad attack. "I heard a loud explosion. I found myself under the car. I got out quickly and ran toward the street and then lost consciousness."
In Baqouba, about 20 kilometres to northeast of here, three policemen and the driver were killed. One policeman was missing, Lt. Wisam Ahmed said. Officials said at least 10 civilians were hurt.
Police Sgt. Ammar Ahmed said he saw a white Nissan Land Cruiser approach the police station at normal speed. As the driver approached the gate, police signalled him to stop but instead he detonated the vehicle.
"There was a driver inside the car," Ahmed said.
There have been five vehicle bombings in Iraq since Wednesday, mostly targeting Iraqis who support the coalition.
A bomb Wednesday night exploded at the home of a pro-U.S. sheik in Ramadi. On Thursday, a blast occurred at the offices of a U.S.-allied Kurdish political party in Kirkuk. Late Friday, a truck blew up near the office of a British de-mining company in Irbil.
U.S. military officials said they were warned by intelligence reports to expect an upsurge in attacks, particularly in the province that includes Baqouba, toward the end of Ramadan. Lt.-Col. Steve Russell, a battalion commander in the 4th Infantry Division, said U.S. intelligence officials fear that religious extremists may try to commit "good works" at the end of the holy month by attacking Americans.
Khan Bani Saad and Baqouba are part of the so-called "Sunni Triangle" north and west of the capital that has seen fierce resistance to the U.S.-led occupation.
In Brussels, Belgium, a spokeswoman for DHL said one of its Airbus 300 planes was headed from Baghdad to Bahrain with three crew members on board when it turned around and made an emergency landing. The spokeswoman, Patricia Thomson, said the cause of the emergency was not immediately clear.
A U.S. military spokeswoman, Capt. Carrie Clear, also said the cause of the emergency was under investigation.
A photograph taken from the ground showed flames at the spot where the ailerons and flaps meet on the left wing's trailing edge. The damage appeared consistent with effects of the explosion of a surface-to-air missile near the left engine.
In recent weeks, insurgents have shot down five U.S. helicopters using shoulder-fired missiles and rocket propelled grenades. About 40 U.S. servicemen were killed and nearly two dozen injured.
The car bombings occurred a day after guerrillas fired more than a dozen rockets from donkey carts at the Oil Ministry and two hotels used by foreign journalists and civilian defence contractors.
One civilian contractor was wounded when the rockets exploded at the Palestine Hotel and at the nearby Sheraton. There were no casualties at the Oil Ministry, which was closed for the Muslim day of prayer.
The attacks on some of the most heavily guarded buildings in the centre of the capital appeared designed to demonstrate that the guerrillas retain the ability to strike at will despite the overwhelming presence of U.S. and Iraqi security forces.
"They're trying to break our will. They're trying to seize the headlines . . . but they're militarily insignificant," Brig.-Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. military deputy director for operations, said of Friday's attacks.
However, Kimmitt acknowledged the attacks point to "a very clever enemy who knows that we don't have the best intelligence in the world."
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
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