One dead in blast at US consular office

An explosion outside a former Saddam Hussein-era palace in Basra that houses a US consular office killed at least one person and wounded two others, police and witnesses said.

Police Capt. Mushtaq Taleb said the bomb targeted a car owned by the National Security Co., a local security company, killing the driver and wounding two people who were in the street.

“The attack occurred at the entrance of the (former presidential) palace that leads to the U.S. consulate,” Taleb said. “It was few metres from the anti-blast cement wall.”

The blast walls absorbed the brunt of the blast, witnesses said. The charred corpse could be seen in a car outside the building.

The explosion occurred just after 4pm.at the Basra Palace, which is now a British base, a British military spokeswoman said while speaking on condition of anonymity.