NewsMine — war-on-terror — iraq — insurgency — 2003 — 03-dec — Viewing Item

Restaurant blast kills 5 { December 31 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-iraq-blast,0,3425595.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/sns-ap-iraq-blast,0,3425595.story?coll=ny-worldnews-headlines 5 Killed in Blast at Baghdad Restaurant By Associated Press December 31, 2003, 2:20 PM EST BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A large explosion ripped through a restaurant in central Baghdad on New Year's Eve, killing five people. Witnesses said the blast was caused by a car bomb. Rescuers were seen pulling people from the building, as sirens wailed and ambulances sped to the area near the former U.S. Embassy. Five people died, said Lt. General Ahmed Kadhem, deputy Iraqi interior minister and Baghdad chief of police. The restaurant, called Nabil, had advertised a New Year's Eve party with live music and bellydancing. Several cars outside the restaurant were wrecked and in flames. Gunfire was heard after the explosion. U.S. soldiers were seen heading to the scene, and U.S. military helicopters hovered overhead. Firefighters trained hoses on the flames. A large crater was visible on a sidestreet next to the restaurant, which is on the corner of a city block. U.S. soldiers and Iraqi police had stepped up security in Baghdad on Wednesday, erecting more razor wire and checkpoints in key areas. Military officials have reported the possibility of attacks by insurgents over the holiday period. Earlier in Baghdad, a car bomb exploded as a U.S. convoy passed on a street full of shops, destroying a Humvee, Iraqi police Sgt. Thabet Talib said. An 8-year-old Iraqi boy was killed and 21 other people were wounded, including five U.S. soldiers and five Iraqi civil defense personnel, authorities said. Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division, said it was not clear what kind of bomb caused the blast. Later in the evening, a bomb hidden in shrubs outside a restaurant in Baghdad went off as a U.S. military convoy passed, wounding three American soldiers and three Iraqi civilians. Also Wednesday, gunfire erupted as hundreds of Iraqis marched in protest over fears of Kurdish domination in the oil-rich northern city of Kirkuk. Police said two people were killed. Near the southern city of Basra, a South Korean was killed in an ambush and resulting gunbattle between Romanian soldiers and Iraqi insurgents, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported Wednesday. There was no immediate confirmation of the report or whether the victim was a soldier or a civilian. Despite fears at home over casualties, South Korea has pushed forward with a plan to send dispatch 3,000 troops to Iraq, in addition to 465 medics and military engineers already there. Two South Korean civilian engineers were killed by insurgents in November. Copyright © 2003, The Associated Press

Bomb attack kills soldier wounds two { December 7 2003 } Car bomb injures 31 us troops Car bombs rock iraq police stations { December 15 2003 } First gi slain since hussein capture { December 19 2003 } Iraq car blast seen as tactical shift Iraqis dispute claim of 54 killed { December 2 2003 } Missile firing dhl baghdad airport [jpg] Restaurant blast kills 5 { December 31 2003 } Saddam arrest fuels insurgency { December 18 2003 } Samarra residents say civilians killed Soldier guarding gas station killed in iraq { December 8 2003 } Spain mourns loss of 7 agents { December 1 2003 } Suicide attack on base kills soldier injures reporters Tough new tactics by us tighten grip on iraq towns { December 7 2003 } Us says 54 iraqis killed in samarra Files Listed: 15

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