Car Bomb, Rockets Explode in Baghdad - (one American civilian contractor wounded)

The Las Vegas Sun ^ | March 07, 2004 at 10:30:34 PST | ASSOCIATED PRESS

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Today: March 07, 2004 at 10:30:34 PST

Car Bomb, Rockets Explode in Baghdad

ASSOCIATED PRESS

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -

At least 10 rockets exploded Sunday night in central Baghdad near the area housing the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition, officials said. Sirens blared for several minutes, and smoke and flames were visible.

The former Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs was on fire, a witness said. The building already was severely damaged by U.S. bombing during the war last year. A U.S. military mess hall sits behind the building.

The rockets struck at about 7:30 p.m. on the northern edge of the Green Zone, which houses the coalition headquarters. There was no immediate word on casualties.

Iraqi police and witnesses said the Russian-made Katyusha rockets were fired from a white Toyota Land Cruiser that was parked near the ministry building. Soon after, the vehicle exploded, but it wasn't clear if that blast was intentional.

Iraqi officials had said earlier that one of the explosions was caused by a car bomb.

Iraqi police immediately sealed off the area around the Land Cruiser and U.S. armored vehicles rushed out of the Green Zone, possibly in search of suspects. U.S. troops also patrolled on foot in the area immediately beyond the police security cordon. Security was also beefed up at the nearby "Assassins Gate," one of the main Green Zone entrances.

The witnesses said the rockets were aimed at the Baghdad Convention Center, a major coalition building where the U.S. military press office is based, and the al-Rasheed Hotel, home to many coalition staff.

Inside the Green Zone, employees at the Baghdad Convention Center fled into the basement, said Army 1st Sgt. Stephen Valley, a military spokesman.

"Everyone's OK. Everyone's been accounted for," Valley said. "They're all down in the basement."

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that 10 explosions occurred "in the vicinity of" the convention center, and said officials were investigating.

Shortly after the blasts, a U.S. Army OH-58 Kiowa helicopter, a surveillance aircraft, and an Apache helicopter flew low over the Tigris River, possibly to seek out the heat signature of the rocket launchers. The helicopters use infrared sights to seek out the heat left by the rocket tubes.

The Green Zone was last struck on March 3, when a U.S. Army spokesman confirmed that a rocket hit the area. No one was injured and no damage was reported. On the same day, insurgents fired four mortars at the 4th Infantry Division's base in the northern city of Tikrit, including one that landed near a dining hall during dinner time. No one was hurt.

Last month, the mess hall of the 1st Cavalry Division at Camp Victory on the northeastern side of Baghdad International Airport was hit by mortars. Three soldiers were hurt.

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[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Latest update with some additional details.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Detail on how it was done!

[Cap Huff]

". . . but it wasn't clear if that blast was intentional."

I've got to wonder about this.

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

Ernest, perhaps you could ask the Admin Mods to add "(one American civilian contractor wounded)" to the deceptively deadly-sounding (typical AP) title.
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Inside the Green Zone, employees at the Baghdad Convention Center fled into the basement, said Army 1st Sgt. Stephen Valley, a military spokesman.

"Everyone's OK. Everyone's been accounted for," Valley said. "They're all down in the basement."

A U.S. military spokesman confirmed that 10 explosions occurred "in the vicinity of" the convention center, and said officials were investigating.

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More info from the FoxNews-AP account:

 

Rockets, Explosions in Central Baghdad

Sunday, March 07, 2004

(cont.)....Five rockets hit the Al-Rasheed hotel, where some civilian contractors are living and a coalition dining hall is located. A U.S. civilian contractor was wounded, the military said.

....Earlier Sunday, some 500 U.S. soldiers, backed by tanks and helicopters, raided Baghdad's biggest dairy processing plant, in the western suburbs of the capital, looking for specific militant suspects. Four people were arrested, battalion commander Lt. Col. Tim Ryan told The Associated Press.

Troops entered the grounds of the eight-building plant without incident and checked identity papers of the workers, separating men and women.

After the raid, soldiers handed out Arabic-language newspapers printed by the coalition, and handbills offering rewards for information about suspected militants or bomb makers.

....In northern Iraq, insurgents fired a rocket-propelled grenade at a police station in the city of Mosul in a drive-by attack that killed two Iraqi civilians and wounded two police officers, police said.

  ~ http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,113498,00.html

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Prayers going out for our courageous wounded civilian contractor, and for the friends and loved ones of the killed and wounded Iraqi police and civilians.

Last desperate acts of a dying regime, ping!

[MeekOneGOP]

Last desperate acts of a dying regime ...

[Alamo-Girl]

Bump!

[blackie]

We are winning ~ the bad guys are losing ~ trolls, terrorists, democrats and the mainstream media are sad ~ very sad!

~~ Bush/Cheney 2004 ~~

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OK!

Ernest, perhaps you could ask the Admin Mods to add "(one American civilian contractor wounded)" to the deceptively deadly-sounding (typical AP) title.

____________________________________

Perhaps _______________

Rockets Explode in Baghdad - ( - only one American civilian contractor wounded)

[windchime]

Bump!

[Ragtime Cowgirl]

March 8, 2004
Release Number: 04-03-23


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


ROCKETS FIRED AT GREEN ZONE

BAGHDAD, Iraq - As many as seven rockets were fired in the direction of the Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad's Green Zone at about 7:25 p.m. Mar. 7.

At least five of the rockets hit the hotel, but there is no estimate on the extent of damage.

The rockets were fired from a nine-round launcher mounted on the back of a sport utility vehicle outside of the Green Zone. Two rockets did not launch, and the vehicle caught fire. Military emergency personnel responded and have the scene under control.

The incident is under investigation.

 

http://www.centcom.mil/CENTCOMNews/news_release.asp?NewsRelease=20040323.txt