Troops opened fire yesterday on two explosives-laden trucks that tried to plow through a Polish military camp south of Baghdad, triggering blasts that killed four people -- including the two drivers and two Iraqis -- and wounded 54 people.
The wounded in the apparent suicide attack included 23 soldiers -- 10 Hungarians, 12 Poles, and an American -- and 31 civilians, officials in Baghdad and Warsaw said.
It occurred as members of the country's Iraqi Governing Council continued to push aside the US idea of holding regional caucuses to elect an interim government after the planned June 30 hand over.
The bombing happened after 7:15am when a pair of trucks loaded with explosives tried to drive near the front of Camp Charlie in Hillah. Guards fired at the vehicles, causing one to explode, said Lieutenant Colonel Robert Strzelecki. Another truck struck a concrete barrier and exploded, damaging a nearby house.
Poland leads a multinational force of about 9,500 soldiers in south-central Iraq. Its troops also fought in the US-led war that began March 20 to oust former president Saddam Hussein. Hungary has 300 troops in Iraq providing logistical support and humanitarian aid.
Hungarian Defense Ministry Spokesman Istvan Bocskai said two of the Hungarian soldiers were seriously wounded, but the injuries weren't life threatening.
"One of them is being treated in Baghdad and the other in Babylon," he said, adding Hungary had no plans to withdraw the soldiers. Camp Babylon is the Polish headquarters here.
A Polish officer was killed in last November, the first Polish soldier killed in combat since the aftermath of World War II.
More than 280 people have been killed in suicide attacks across Iraq since the beginning of the year. Yesterday's attack occurred a week after two suicide vehicle bombings -- against an Iraqi police station in Iskandariyah and an army recruiting station in Baghdad -- that killed more than 100 people.
Since the beginning of the year 109 people have been killed in Irbil and 100 in separate attacks in Baghdad and Iskandariyah.
In Baghdad, Mouwafak al-Rubaie, a Shiite Arab member of the Governing Council, said yesterday that the idea of using caucuses was "gone with the wind," adding that the only solution palatable to Iraqis are general elections.
"Anything else will make things worse and the results will be damaging to Iraq," he said. "Only elections will give the legitimacy needed for any future political process or body."
The US also unveiled a list of 32 wanted people included suspected cell leaders, former members of Saddam's military and regional Baath leaders thought to be helping the insurgency.
Atop the list, with a US$1 million reward, is Mohammed Yunis al-Ahmad, a former top Baath Party official. Rewards between US$50,000 and US$200,000 were offered for the others.
Until now, US officials have not made public a list of suspected leaders of the insurgency that erupted after the regime's collapse and has killed more American soldiers than did the invasion that toppled Saddam.
Also see story:
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
RSS