Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- An explosion at a U.S. military base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul caused ``multiple casualties,'' the U.S. military said in an e-mailed statement.
The cause of the blast, which took place at noon local time, is under investigation, according to the statement, which didn't specify how many people have been killed or wounded.
Mosul was the scene last month of a flare up in violence as insurgents took advantage of the U.S. focus on a military operation in Fallujah, west of Baghdad. The U.S. and Iraq were forced to deploy troops to Mosul on Nov. 11 after insurgents seized several of the city's police stations.
U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, making a surprise visit to Baghdad today, and his Iraqi counterpart Ayad Allawi, pledged today to hold Iraq's elections on time on Jan. 30, in the face of violence which Allawi said he expected to increase as that date draws nearer.
Since the November escalation of violence in Mosul, U.S. and Iraqi security forces have had to repel insurgent attacks on police stations there on at least six occasions, according to the military.
Thanks All, I lost connection - bad wire