Four coalition troops killed in Iraq
Armed with car bombs, mortars and machine guns, insurgents launched three co-ordinated attacks in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala today, killing four coalition soldiers and injuring 25 others, a Polish commander said.
“It was a co-ordinated, massive attack planned for a big scale and intended to do much harm,” said Maj. Gen. Andrzej Tyszkiewicz, head of the Polish-led multinational force responsible for security around Karbala. He gave a news conference at his headquarters at Camp Babylon that was carried live on Polish television.
He did not confirm the nationalities of the casualties, but said five people suffered serious injuries.
“Four car bombs were used, grenade launchers and guns. We have sent rapid reaction forces and 10 helicopters,” Tyszkiewicz said.
The drivers of the car bombs were shot before they could enter the military bases, Tyszkiewicz said.
“There were different types of attacks at different places,” said U.S. Maj. Ralph Manos, a spokesman for the multinational force. The attackers targeted two military coalition camps at the city’s university and at a police station, as well as the mayor’s office.
Col Mariusz Michalski, another coalition spokesman, told the Polish news agency PAP that two soldiers died at the Bulgarian camp. He did not confirm their nationality.
Col Adam Stasinski, a spokesman for the Polish Defence Ministry in Warsaw, said some projectiles that were fired at the Bulgarian base hit a nearby university instead, injuring some people. He said a logistics base where soldiers of different nationalities serve was also targeted.
No Poles were killed, Stasinski said.
Thai soldiers also operate in the area, but Jakrapob Penkair, a government spokesman in Bangkok, said there were no reports of Thai casualties.
Witnesses said smoke and fire rose from the mayor’s office after a mortar attack. They reported a car bomb at the university.
Karbala is a holy Shiite city south of Baghdad. Saddam Hussein, who was captured by U.S. forces on Dec. 13, conducted a bloody crackdown on residents of Karbala and other Shiite areas in 1991.
