Car bomb explodes at US base in Iraq

In the third suicide attack this week against US troops, a car bomb exploded at the entrance of a base in western Iraq.

It was not immediately clear whether there were deaths among the troops at the base – the headquarters for the 82nd Airborne Division – in Ramadi, 60 miles west of Baghdad, a military spokesman said.

The three Iraqis riding in the car containing the bomb died in the blast.

The region around Ramadi and the nearby city of Fallujah has been one of the most dangerous for US troops in Iraq.

US military convoys have repeatedly been targeted by deadly roadside bombs and small-arms fire.

In Baghdad, a reporter and photographer from Time magazine and two American soldiers were wounded when a hand grenade was tossed into a army Humvee they were travelling in.

At least 20 journalists have died from various causes in Iraq since the war began and several others were wounded.