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The FBI is draining a pond Monday, June 9, 2003, near Frederick, Md., in a search for evidence of how anthrax-laced letters were assembled in the deadly 2001 attacks, drawing work crews with heavy equipment to a municipal forest to begin the work. The FBI's Washington field office issued a statement saying that its agents and Postal Service agents were conducting ``searches related to the investigation of the origin of the anthrax-laced letters'' mailed in 2001.

FBI Drains Md. Pond for Anthrax Evidence

U.S. National - AP FBI Drains Md. Pond for Anthrax Evidence Mon Jun 9,10:30 PM ET Add U.S. National - AP to My Yahoo! By DAVID DISHNEAU, Associated Press Writer FREDERICK, Md. - The FBI began draining a pond Monday in a search for evidence that the person who carried out the deadly anthrax-by-mail attacks in 2001 filled the envelopes with the deadly spores under water for his own protection.

The draining of the one-acre pond in the Frederick Municipal Forest is expected to take three to four weeks. The pond is 4 to 5 feet deep.

The work drew FBI agents, other law enforcement officials and contractors, who operated dump trucks and backhoes at the site several miles northwest of the city. A generator and a pump were brought in, and a hose ran into the pond.

Three Iraqis Killed in Ammunition Facility Blast

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - An explosion at an Iraqi ammunition facility has killed three Iraqis and wounded two others, the United States Central Command said.

The explosion at Ad Diwaniyah, about 75 miles south of the capital Baghdad, occurred on Monday morning, CentCom said in a statement posted on its Web site early on Tuesday.

It said U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq sustained no casualties in the explosion.

The cause of the blast was not immediately clear and an investigation was underway, it added.

An explosion at Diwaniyah last month killed one U.S. soldier and injured another. The U.S. Central Command said at the time it did not believe the blast was the result of "hostile action."

CentCom said U.S. troops in Iraq intend to help clear the ammunition facility on Tuesday once they make sure it was safe to do so.

In a separate incident, CentCom said a fire caused a series of explosions at an ammunition supply point near the Muslim holy city of Kerbala, also south of Baghdad, on Monday afternoon but caused no casualties. It said no "hostile action" was believed to be behind the fire.