10 dead in Red Cross suicide bomb blast

A suicide bomber rammed an ambulance packed with explosives into security barriers outside the Iraqi offices of the international Red Cross today, killing about 10 people, an American general said.

“It definitely was a suicide bombing,” Brig Gen Mark Hertling said. He said up to 10 Iraqis were killed and about 10 others were injured. He said four other vehicles exploded in the Baghdad area, two of them against police stations.

A series of blasts rumbled through the Iraqi capital.

Iraqi police Lt Sultan Mohammed said the explosion came from an ambulance as it drove in front of the Red Cross building. Two cars could be seen burning in front of the building.

Ghani Kadim, 50, a cigarette vendor, said he watched an ambulance move down the street towards the Red Cross building. “As it entered the front gate of the compound, it exploded,” he said.

American troops and Iraqi police streamed into the neighbourhood and cordoned off the area.

Red Cross spokeswoman Nada Doumani said there were casualties among the Red Cross staff but she gave no figures and did not say if they were dead or injured. She said the building normally has about 100 people, mostly Iraqis, working there but it was unclear how many were in their offices.

“Of course we don’t understand why somebody would attack the Red Cross,” she said. “It’s very hard to understand.”

She said the international Red Cross has been working in Iraq since 1980 and “has not been involved in any politics”. Asked if the organisation would remain in Iraq, she replied: “I don’t even know what we’re going to do.”

Three other blasts could be heard throughout the city following the Red Cross blast, which occurred after 8.30am. Witnesses said one blast was in the al-Khadra neighbourhood, where the relief organisation CARE is located. Another was in the al-Shaab district, another witness said.

The blasts occurred one day after a rocket attack on the Al Rasheed Hotel, where US military and coalition officials lived. An American colonel was killed and 18 people were injured in the Sunday attack. Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz was in the building but escaped injury.

The blast blew down a 40ft (12-metre) section of the front wall in front of the three-story Red Cross building, demolished a dozen cars in the area and apparently broke a water main, flooding the streets.

Another witness, Maiytham Mohammed, said the blast knocked him off his feet and “there was huge smoke from the area”.

“We are aware of an explosion near the Red Cross building,” a US military spokesman said on condition of anonymity. “A quick reaction force was sent to the area.”

Dr Jalal F Massa, 53, a cardiologist whose daughter was slightly injured, said the US occupation had failed to bring security to the city.

“For us, as Iraqi people, who have suffered so much, we feel helpless when we see this,” he said. “It (the occupation) has not been a success. We were much better off in the 1950s when we had little oil. I don’t know what price we have to pay.”