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http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1511453/posts

U.S. Military Says Soldier Who Defended Hotel During Insurgent Attack May Have Saved Lives
AP via Tampa Bay Online ^ | 10/29/2005 | Thomas Wagner

Posted on 10/29/2005 2:30:22 AM PDT by Quaker

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - A U.S. soldier shot and killed one of three suicide bombers who attacked the Palestine Hotel complex before he could reach his intended target and that probably saved lives in the building, the military said Saturday.

In a statement on Monday's attack, the military confirmed for the first time that insurgents on the ground apparently lent support to the suicide bombers with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades in the well-coordinated strike on the hotel complex, where many foreign journalists live and work.

The three powerful explosions killed 17 Iraqis who were in the area at the time and wounded several people in the complex, the government said.

The attack involved three suicide car bombs. The first blew a hole in a cement wall protecting the complex. The second car exploded nearby as a possible diversion. Then a large cement mixer drove into the complex through the hole in the wall and exploded on a small road between the Palestine Hotel and the Sheraton Hotel, two 17-story buildings.

(Excerpt) Read more at ap.tbo.com ...