|
Carbomb hits baghdad police academy Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/02/sprj.irq.main/index.htmlhttp://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/09/02/sprj.irq.main/index.html
Car bomb hits Baghdad police academy
Hundreds of thousands of Shiites gather for cleric's funeral
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) --A car bomb exploded Tuesday in a parking lot near a western Baghdad police station at which cadets are being trained for the country's new police force.
Video shown on Al-Jazeera television immediately after the attack showed a fire and thick black smoke rising from the scene.
According to police, there are casualties but no deaths. A number of ambulances have rushed to the scene, as have U.S. forces, who have cordoned off the area.
A police official said a wall separating the facility from the parking lot largely protected it from the blast.
In another incident, two U.S. military police officers have died and one was wounded after their Humvee hit a bomb on a highway in southern Baghdad, the coalition press information center said Tuesday.
The members of the 220th Military Police Brigade were traveling along a main supply route at 3:19 p.m. Monday (5:19 a.m. EDT) when their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device.
The wounded officer was evacuated to a field hospital for treatment.
Two accidental deaths have struck U.S. forces this week:
• A U.S. soldier died early Tuesday in a non-hostile incident involving a UH-60 helicopter near Camp Dogwood, one hour south of Baghdad. One soldier was wounded. The incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. local time (4:30 p.m. Monday EDT), the military said, but gave no further details.
• A U.S. soldier in Iraq drowned and two were injured near Tikrit, U.S. Central Command said Monday. The soldiers were part of the 4th Infantry Division's Task Force Ironhorse. They were on a routine patrol Friday night when their vehicle fell into a canal, a Central Command statement said.
A total 286 U.S. troops have died in Iraq, 147 of them since President Bush declared major combat over on May 1. Of the 147, 67 have died in hostile action and 80 lost their lives to non-hostile causes.
There is no reliable source for Iraqi civilian or combatant casualty figures. The Associated Press reported an estimated 3,240 civilian Iraqi deaths between March 20 and April 20, but the AP said the figure was based on records of only half of Iraq's hospitals, and the actual number was thought to be significantly higher.
Hundreds of thousands mourn cleric's death
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Shiite Muslims converged Tuesday on Najaf to mourn the prominent cleric killed in a massive car bombing last week outside the Imam Ali Mosque, the burial site of the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law. (Gallery: Scenes of the aftermath, protests).
The bombing killed at least 83 people, including the Ayatollah Mohammad Baqir al-Hakim, a longtime Iraqi dissident. U.S. troops are maintaining responsibility for security in Najaf longer than originally planned because of the attack, U.S. Central Command sources said Monday.
The symbolic funeral procession for al-Hakim traveled from Baghdad to Najaf.
Lt. Col. Chris Woodbridge, the Marine commander at Najaf, told CNN that helicopters have brought fresh stocks of medical equipment and supplies to Najaf in anticipation of possible violence or even another bombing.
"It's important to remember that this event is a mass expression of grief and mourning for the Shia community here in Iraq and in the world," he said. "We are again coordinating very closely with the Najaf police and the Coalition Provisional Authority to ensure that we're minimizing the risk to that large gathering." (Map: Religious and ethnic groups in Iraq)
An Iraqi police officer told CNN that security forces seized a sport utility vehicle that was "full of bombs" in a Najaf suburb Monday, but no details about the car or the driver were immediately available.
Najaf Gov. Haydar Al-Mayali told reporters Sunday that police are holding five suspects in the bombing -- all linked to Saddam's deposed regime. Woodbridge said some of them have been turned over to coalition troops for protection out of fears that angry mourners could try to attack the local police station, he said.
The Coalition Provisional Authority, the U.S. administration in Iraq, has arranged with Iraqi officials to have the FBI examine evidence collected at the scene of Friday's bombing, Woodbridge said -- including what was described as computer hardware taken from people detained after the attack.
Other developments
• An audio tape, purportedly from Saddam, denied responsibility for Friday's mosque bombing and promised that an investigation into the bombing "will be set up after the invaders are expelled.""The infidel invaders are accusing, without proof, the followers of Saddam Hussein after the killing of Shiite leader Hakim," said the voice on the tape, which was broadcast Monday by the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.
• The 1st Marine Expeditionary Force had been scheduled to turn over control of south-central Iraq to a Polish-led multinational division on Wednesday. The transfer ceremony is still scheduled to take place, and the multinational force will take control of security arrangements in areas surrounding Najaf. But the Marines will remain in charge of security in the city until further notice, Central Command sources said. (Fears raised of sectarian violence)
CNN correspondents Ben Wedeman, Rym Brahimi, Barbara Starr, Caroline Faraj and CNN translator Faris Qasiracontributed to this report.
|
|
