[Anti-Bubba182]

Middle East - AP

Mon Mar 1, 5:44 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq - A large explosion was heard Monday in central Baghdad and appeared to have come from the vicinity of the headquarters of the U.S. occupation authority.

Shortly after the blast, a Black Hawk helicopter circled over the green zone, the U.S. compound that includes Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former Republican Palace and serves as headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.

There were no immediate details on the cause of the blast

[Anti-Bubba182]

Reuters

Blasts Target Iraqi Shi'ite Ceremony in Baghdad

Tue Mar 2, 2004 02:27 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Several blasts in a Shi'ite district of Baghdad Tuesday caused several casualties, Iraqi police said, as thousands of Shi'ites gathered in the area for one of the sect's main religious ceremonies of the year.

The blasts, near a major Shi'ite shrine in the district, took place almost simultaneously with explosions in the Shi'ite holy city of Kerbala that killed at least 25 people.

[Calpernia]

Mon Mar 1, 5:44 AM ET BAGHDAD, Iraq - A large explosion was heard Monday in central Baghdad and appeared to have come from the vicinity of the headquarters of the U.S. occupation authority.

Shortly after the blast, a Black Hawk helicopter circled over the green zone, the U.S. compound that includes Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former Republican Palace and serves as headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition.

PING