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Car Bomber Wounds 41 U.S. Troops in Iraq
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By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer

TALAFAR, Iraq - A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives at the gates of a military barracks early Tuesday, wounding 41 American troops just hours after three soldiers died in a road accident in central Iraq (news - web sites), the military said.

In Baghdad, a rocket attack on a mosque left three Iraqi civilians dead.

The attack at the army base occurred at 4:45 a.m. local time when a car drove to the gate of the base in the town of Talafar, 30 miles west of the northern city of Mosul.

Guards at the gate and in a watchtower opened fire on the vehicle and moments later it blew up. The bomb left a large crater at the gate's entryway.

Col. Michael Linnington, commander of the 3rd Brigade which controls the area west of Mosul and all the way to the Syrian border, said the attack was a suicide mission and that the attacker's remains were "all over the compound."

"Right now we have four soldiers that were evacuated and are being treated for blast injuries. In addition, 37 soldiers have nicks, cuts, bruises and some broken bones," he said. A base translator also was injured in the blast, which damaged nearby homes.

Meanwhile, three U.S. soldiers died and one was injured in an accident when an embankment collapsed beneath their armored personnel carriers north of Baghdad, the military said Tuesday. The soldiers belonged to the 2nd Infantry Division's 3rd Brigade.

The deaths bring to 448 the number of U.S. soldiers who have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion on March 20. Of those, 308 have died as a result of hostile action.

In Baghdad, three people were reported killed and two injured early Tuesday when a missile exploded in the courtyard of a mosque in the capital's western Hurriyah district.

Ahmed Hussein, the mosque's prayer leader, said the explosion occurred at 6:45 a.m. and that it damaged the building and several cars parked nearby.

In Tokyo, Koizumi's Cabinet on Tuesday approved the dispatch of about 1,000 soldiers to southeastern Iraq, where they will restore water services, offer medical and other humanitarian assistance and help rebuild schools. The dispatch, expected to begin over the next month, will involve elements of Japan's land, sea and air forces.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Koizumi went before the nation to explain why he is pushing ahead with the controversial plan, which opposition leaders say could draw the troops into combat and violate Japan's postwar pacifist constitution.

"We are not going to war," Koizumi said. "The situation in Iraq is severe. We know it is not necessarily safe. But our Self-Defense Forces must still fulfill this mission."

The outline announced Tuesday left the timing of the dispatch open, though a small advance contingent is expected to leave before the end of the year. Japan's defense minister was expected to set the date by early next week.

Under the plan, 600 ground troops will be sent, along with armored vehicles and up to six naval ships, and eight aircraft, including three C130 transport planes.

The total number of troops would be about 1,000, making it the largest overseas deployment since World War II, according to the Defense Agency.

The troops will stay for six months to one year, and, as defensive measures, carry rocket-propelled grenade launchers and other arms that Japanese peacekeepers have never used, news reports said.

Koizumi stressed the need for Tokyo to live up to its commitments to the United States, Japan's most important ally. Japan was criticized by Washington for contributing only money, and not personnel, during the first Gulf War (news - web sites) in the early 1990s.

"America has made many sacrifices to create a viable democracy in Iraq," he said. "Japan must be a trustworthy ally for the United States."

Opponents of the dispatch say Iraq is still not secure enough to fulfill that requirement. Such dangers were underscored last weekend, when two diplomats were gunned down near the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit.

Increased concerns about security have already prompted an exodus of international aid organizations and foreign diplomats.

On Tuesday, guards at the embassy of Bangladesh in Baghdad said the ambassador and his four-member staff had left the country. There was no immediate explanation for the departure.

On Monday, insurgents shot and killed a U.S. soldier who was guarding a gas station in the city of Mosul 250 miles north of Baghdad.

"Four Iraqi males traveling in vehicles stopped approximately 50 meters from a gas station in Mosul and opened fire on coalition soldiers guarding the station," Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said. "One coalition soldier died of gunshot wounds in that attack."

Hours after the killing, three other U.S. soldiers in Mosul were wounded when a bomb exploded as their patrol passed by.

Kimmitt said there were 18 engagements between Iraqi guerrillas and U.S.-led coalition forces in the past week, down significantly from previous weeks.

"These numbers are significantly lower than recent norms, although we anticipate and are fully prepared for any upturn in attacks in the days and weeks ahead," he said.

On Monday, the U.N. Security Council condemned the attacks by insurgents, noting that the assaults also have targeted foreigners working in the country, including Italians, Spaniards, Japanese, South Koreans and Colombians.