Free Republic

HASWA, Iraq (AP) - A roadside bomb exploded near a bus south of Baghdad on Saturday, killing 13 Iraqis, including at least one child, and wounding 17 people, a hospital official said. The blast occurred on a main road in the town of Haswa, 30 miles south of the capital, police said. The bomb was planted in the ground and went off as a bus carrying 21 people was passing, said police officer Ali Mahmoud. The dead included passengers and bystanders, among them a 4-year-old boy, said Wasan Nasser, a doctor at Iskan Hospital in neighboring Iskandariyah. Several critically wounded...

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents opened fire on a U.S. military convoy south of Baghdad on Saturday, apparently causing some U.S. casualties, witnesses said. Coalition officials in the capital were unaware of the reoprted attack, which occurred in the al-Haswa area, 25 miles south of Baghdad. Iraqis opposed to the U.S. occupation make daily attacks against coalition troops in Iraq. Since the war began March 20, 546 American service members have died. Most of the deaths have occurred after President Bush declared an end to active combat on May 1.