13/12/2004

Car bomb in Baghdad kills at least seven

At least seven people, all understood to be civilians, have died when a car bomb exploded at a military checkpoint in Baghdad today.

The attack marks the anniversary of the capture by American forces of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein who was found hiding in a small underground shelter last year.

The bomb exploded at around 9.00am local time (06.00hrs GMT) as a suicide bomber waited at a checkpoint controlling access to the government's secure green zone compound.

A US military spokesperson said that no multinational forces had been wounded or killed in today's attack.

Iraq's interim president, Ghazi Yawer, said that the wholesale dismantling of the Iraqi army was partly to blame for the current security crisis. He said that, while the resulting vacuum had proved to be hard to fill, the priority was to ensure that people felt safe to vote on January 30 next year.

Yesterday, eight US marines were reported killed in three separate incidents in Anbar province, which includes the city of Fallujah.

In the past two days there have been renewed air strikes on insurgent positions and clashes with troops in the area.

(SP/MB)

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