- Title: IRAQ: A CAR BOMB HAS KILLED ONE AND WOUNDED 53 INCLUDING SIX AMERICANS
- Date: 9th September 2003
- Summary: (W4)ARBIL, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 10, 2003) (REUTERS) LV/SLV OF SECURITY ON STREETS (2 SHOTS) SV/SLV SOLDIERS ON APC AND NEAR APC (2 SHOTS) SLV EXTERIOR OF HOSPITAL SLV/SV/MCU OF CASUALTIES IN HOSPITAL BEDS (8 SHOTS)
- Embargoed: 24th September 2003 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: ARBIL, IRAQ
- Country: Iraq
- Topics: Crime,General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA7WVMK97L9NQ8ELJ292NIR7Y8U
- Story Text: A car bomb in Iraq has killed one and wounded 53, including six Americans.
A fifth car bomb attack in Iraq in five weeks killed one person and wounded 53, including six U.S. Defense Department personnel, in the northern city of Arbil, the U.S. military said on Wednesday (September 10).
The military spokeswoman had no details as to whether the U.S. personnel were civilians or soldiers.
The bomb exploded at 2105 GMT on Tuesday (September 9), 350 km (220 miles) north of Baghdad in Kurdish-dominated territory, which has so far been spared much of the violence U.S.-led forces have been battling to stamp out since they ousted Saddam Hussein on April 9.
The spokeswoman said the attack took place at a "safe house" in the city but had no more information. A spokesman for the U.S. 101st Airborne Division which patrols Arbil said none of its soldiers had been killed or injured in the blast.
On Tuesday afternoon a U.S. soldier became the 68th to be killed in action in Iraq since the official end of major combat on May 1, when his vehicle was hit by an explosives attack northeast of Baghdad, a military spokeswoman said.
The two incidents hammered home the cost of the U.S.-led occupation, hours after Iraq's American-appointed Governing Council took a step towards international legitimacy by securing a seat at an Arab League meeting in Cairo.
For months, U.S. troops have faced guerrilla attacks in Iraq. But the car bombs targeting foreign involvement in Iraq and locals working with occupying powers have taken violence to a higher level, killing more than 120 people since August 7.
Vehicle bombers have hit the Jordanian embassy in Baghdad, United Nations offices and the capital's police headquarters. A top Shi'ite cleric was among more than 80 people killed by a car bomb in the city of Najaf last month.
U.S. officials have mostly blamed die-hard Saddam supporters for post-war violence but are also increasingly pointing the finger of suspicion at foreign Islamic militants. Some are talking of a possible alliance between the two groups.
Washington is seeking 15,000 more soldiers from other nations as well as reconstruction funds to back its own commitment of 130,000 soldiers and billions of dollars in Iraq. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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