Basra bomb kills two US security contractors

A roadside bomb targeted a convoy carrying a US security team in the southern Iraqi city of Basra today, killing two American civilians and seriously wounding a third, the US Embassy said in a statement.

The statement said that coalition forces cordoned off the scene of the attack and took the wounded to a hospital. It said the four people in the car worked for a private security firm, but did not name the firm.

“The US Embassy condemns this act of terror and offers its condolences to the families of the victims,” the statement said. It said next of kin were being notified.

An Associated Press photographer at the scene said two four-wheel-drive vehicles were targeted in the attack. The scene was surrounded by heavily armed British forces, whose main base in Iraq is in Basra.

A British Ministry of Defence spokesman said the attack struck a convoy northwest of Basra, 340 miles southeast of Baghdad.

Shiite Muslim-dominated Basra is one of Iraq’s calmer regions, but sectarian violence and attacks against British-led military personnel still occasionally flares.

Irving, Texas-based security contractor DynCorp International confirmed that two of its employees, who were assisting with Iraqi police training, were killed in the attack.

“We can confirm that the two men were DynCorp employees who were involved in the training of Iraqi police. Both men were American,” DynCorp spokesman Gregory Lagana said.

“We are awaiting a full report on the incident and hope to have further details in due course.”