Posted on 01/17/2004 9:48:32 PM PST by saquin
MSNBC just had a special report w/ some raw video. Large explosion in central Baghdad that could be heard for miles. Near the gates of the CPA headquarters. No word on casualties. From the raw video, I saw several civilian cars damaged.
By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A suicide bomber detonated 1,000 pounds of explosives in a pickup truck outside the headquarters compound of the U.S.-led coalition Sunday, killing 18 bystanders, including two U.S. Defense Department workers, American officials said.
At least 28 people, including six Americans, were wounded by the blast, which occurred at about 8 a.m. near the "Assassin's Gate" to Saddam Hussein's former Republican Palace complex, now used by the U.S.-led occupation authority for headquarters. The gate is used by hundreds of Iraqis employed by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the formal name of the U.S.-led occupation authorities, as well as U.S. military vehicles.
It was the deadliest attack in Iraq since Saddam was captured Dec. 13 near his hometown of Tikrit. Seventeen people were killed in a suicide bombing in Khaldiyah, west of Baghdad, the day after Saddam was arrested.
U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer, who is in the United States for talks with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, called the bombing "another clear indication of the murderous and cynical intent of terrorists to undermine freedom, democracy and progress in Iraq. They will not succeed."
"Once again, it is innocent Iraqis who have been murdered by these terrorists in a senseless act of violence," Bremer said in a statement. "Our determination to work for a stable and democratic future for this country is undiminished."
The U.S. military press office initially said the 18 dead included 16 Iraqi civilians and two American civilians. The wounded included 22 Iraqi civilians, four civilians working for the Defense Department and two U.S. soldiers, the press office said.
But a military spokesman later said it was unclear whether the Defense Department casualties involved staff or contract workers.
Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Barbara Burfeind, reached at home early Sunday, said Pentagon officials had no immediate information about the car bomb or the victims.
Col. Ralph Baker, division commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Armored Division, said the explosives were packed inside a white Toyota pickup truck. He discounted witness accounts that more than one vehicle was involved.
"There was not a second car bomb," said Baker, who is in charge of security in the so-called Green Zone, a large swath of land on the west bank of the Tigris River that contains the headquarters.
Brig. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commander of the 1st Armored Division, said the blast occurred "literally at the last point a vehicle could get to without being stopped. The barriers absorbed most of the blast."
Some witnesses said two cars may have been involved.
Salah Farhan said he was accompanying colleagues through the checkpoint when he saw a Land Cruiser try to cut to the head of the line. The vehicle exploded about two cars back from the gate, he said.
U.S. troops guarding the gate took cover when they saw the vehicle try to move to the front of the line.
The area is one of the most heavily guarded in the capital. U.S. soldiers guarding the gate usually stand about 20 yards from the road behind coils of barbed wire and concrete barriers.
One witness, Hamid Hawwam, said two cars exploded at the gate, and one of them flew into the air.
Another, Haidar Hanoun, said he was lining up for a job when a Land Cruiser and another vehicle exploded.
"It was very strong. There are a lot of injured and dead," he said.
Karar Abbas, an Iraqi civil defense trooper, said the blast engulfed seven cars parked along the street.
Mohammed Jabbar, who works at the Ministry of Planning, said he was waiting to pass through the security checkpoint when the blast occurred.
"It lifted us into the air," he said. "People fell on top of one another."
At least three separate fires were seen after the blast. One man was seen lying motionless on the side of the road as coalition soldiers and civilians helped the wounded.
Several of the wounded squatted helplessly on the ground. Some, shocked and weeping, were comforted by bystanders. One wounded man was carried away in what looked like a bed sheet.
Coalition tanks also moved in near the blazes.
"The wounded are in big numbers, there are killed, there were people whom we couldn't take to the hospital," engineer Khalid Taleb said. "It is a very crowded area."
Nabil Abdul Zahar said a friend standing with him in line for security checks was killed.
"My friend was standing behind me in the line when the explosion happened," a shaken Zahar said. "There were lots of injured. I called for help and no one came to help me. He died right there on the ground."
Iraqi police announced on loudspeakers that coalition forces will give $2,500 to anyone providing information on the perpetrators.
The explosion could be heard along the banks of the Tigris River, which flows through the center of the city of 5 million. Dense morning fog blanketed the city at the time.
The last large explosions in the center of Baghdad occurred Monday when mortars exploded near the river.
The blast, apparently caused by a suicide bomber, occurred at about 8 a.m. near the "Assassin's Gate" to Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s former Republican Palace complex, now used by the U.S.-led occupation authority for headquarters. The gate is used by hundreds of Iraqis employed by the Coalition Provisional Authority, the formal name of the U.S.-led occupation authorities, as well as U.S. military vehicles.
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The long thread, with links to updates.
May God comfort those who mourn, heal our wounded, strengthen and protect our troops and civilians serving, and defeat our enemies.
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On the edges of the airfield their appears to be areas that are agricultural in nature. This is inconsistant with the soil on Iwo Jima which is mostly volcanic and barren in nature. This looks more like Okinawa than Iwo Jima.
An injured Iraqi man lies in the road near burning wreckage after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, January 18, 2004. At least 20 people died and another sixty were wounded in a car bomb attack outside the main coalition headquarters in Baghdad Sunday, a U.S. military spokeswoman said. Photo by Reuters Tv/Reuters
Iraqis look out from the bomb-shattered windows of their apartments as a U.S. soldier guards the area near the scene of a car bomb which exploded outside the main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad Sunday, Jan 18, 2004 . Reports say at least 18 people were killed. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
U.S. soldiers investigate the scene of a car bomb which exploded outside the main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad Sunday, Jan 18, 2004. Reports say at least 18 people were killed. (AP Photo/David Guttenfelder)
U.S. soldiers investigate the scene of a car bomb which exploded outside the main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad Sunday, Jan 18, 2004 . Reports say at least 18 people were killed. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
U.S. soldiers secure the scene of a car bomb which exploded outside the main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad Sunday, Jan 18, 2004 . Reports say at least 18 were killed. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)
An injured Iraqi man is assisted on the ground after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, January 18, 2004. Sixteen Iraqi civilians and two employees of the U.S. Department of Defense were killed in a car bomb attack outside the main coalition headquarters in Baghdad on Sunday, a U.S. military spokeswoman said. REUTERS/Reuters television
An injured Iraqi man lies on the ground after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, January 18, 2004. Sixteen Iraqi civilians and two employees of the U.S. Department of Defense were killed in a car bomb attack outside the main coalition headquarters in Baghdad on Sunday, a U.S. military spokeswoman said. REUTERS/Reuters television
An Iraqi survivor lies crying on the curbside at the scene of a car bomb which exploded in Baghdad, Iraq outside the main gate to the headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition Sunday, Jan 18, 2004. Eighteen people were killed, and dozens of others injured, U.S officials said. (AP Photo/David Guttefelder)
An injured Iraqi walks across Baghdad's al-Jumhuriya Bridge away from the site of a massive suicide truck bomb which blew up at the main gate to the US-led coalition headquarters.(AFP/Ramzi Haidar)
A casualty is carried to an ambulance after a car bomb attack in Baghdad, January 18, 2004. A huge car bomb exploded outside the main U.S. headquarters in Baghdad on Sunday morning, killing at least 17 people and wounding 25 as they waited to enter the base, officials said. REUTERS/Reuters television
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