06/05/2004

Seven killed in suicide bombing in Baghdad

A suicide car bomb detonated at a checkpoint close to the Coalition's administrative headquarters in Baghdad has killed six Iraqis and one US soldier.

The car bomber died in the blast, which injured 25 people. US military sources confirmed that three US troops and three Iraqi policemen were among those injured at the scene.

US military spokesperson, Colonel John Murray, said that the attack occurred at 7.26am when a vehicle, which was third in-line at the checkpoint, exploded. The explosion occurred outside a concrete blast wall that was protecting the checkpoint adjacent to a bridge over the river Tigris that leads to the high security Coalition "green zone" where offices and foreign personnel are located.

While the blast wall remained intact, two of the three US soldiers injured by the car bomb were said to be in a "very serious" condition.

Colonel Murray described the checkpoints, which are used daily by many foreign workers and Iraqi citizens entering and leaving the Coalition green zone, as "security worries".

Following the suicide attack, a bomb exploded in the commercial area of central Baghdad injuring two Iraqis. The small blast occurred not far from hotels that had previously been used by foreign contractors. But there appears to have been no clear target for the attack.

(SP)

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