February 11, 2009 5:12 PM
- Text
4 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Roadside Bombing
(CBS/AP)
A roadside bomb exploded Thursday in eastern Baghdad, killing four U.S. soldiers and wounding two others, the U.S. military said.
The attack began when one bomb went off as a U.S. unit was returning from a search operation in the mostly Shiite area, the military said. Moments later, a second bomb exploded, killing and wounding the soldiers.
A demolition team that searched the site after the attack found an explosively formed projectile, a type of high-tech bomb which the U.S. military believes comes from Iran. The device was detonated by the team.
Earlier Thursday, the military said a U.S. soldier was killed the day before in combat in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
In addition, a Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West also died Wednesday in a non-combat related incident in Anbar, the military said in a separate statement. It did not give more details, saying the incident is under investigation.
Earlier Thursday, a suicide car bomber apparently targeting a senior city official sent a ball of fire tearing through a busy square in a mainly Shiite area in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least eight people.
The driver detonated his explosives as a convoy carrying the head of the Baghdad city council, Sabir al-Issawi, was passing an Iraqi military checkpoint in the central Karradah neighborhood. The council chief was unharmed, but three of his bodyguards were wounded, his deputy, Naeem al-Qabi said.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide car bombings are the hallmark of Sunni insurgent groups, particularly al Qaeda in Iraq. It was the second devastating blast to hit the thriving commercial district in four days. An explosives-laden car rammed a flatbed truck packed with Shiite pilgrims there on Sunday, killing 32 people.
In other developments:
Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who is charged with killing 18 civilians in Iraq, said that he's sorry about the deaths but would make the same decision again today. The Iraqis, including women and children, died when Wuterich and his men reacted to an attack that killed a comrade in Haditha. Three other Marines are also charged with murder. Wuterich's interview with Scott Pelley, the first time any of the Marines has spoken publicly about that day, is part of a Sunday, March 18 at 7 p.m. ET.
An Iraqi leader told President Bush on Thursday that the latest security crackdown in his country is working, but cautioned it will take more time. He thanked the American people for supporting Iraq. "We are not finished, but we are doing better than expected," said Vice President Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a leading politician in the powerful Shiite Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq.
Jordan's military court on Thursday sentenced to death four Iraqi al Qaeda militants charged with terror attacks on Jordanians in Iraq. The court also handed down sentences to 10 others in the case — also at large and believed to be in hiding in Iraq — ranging from 15 years in jail with hard labor to life imprisonment. The group's alleged mastermind, Ziad Khalaf Raja al-Karbouly, was charged with leading the group of 14 in plotting attacks on trucks with Jordanian license plates on Iraqi roads to murder those on board.
President Bush is promising to veto a Democratic plan on Iraq working its way through Congress. The measure being considered by the Senate would pull troops out of Iraq over the next 12 months. The White House warns it would "hobble" American commanders and "substantially endanger" the U.S. objective of a democratic Iraq.
Qassim Ismail, who owns a kiosk that sells cigarettes and soft drinks, was wounded by shrapnel Thursday and knocked unconscious.
"I have been working in this place for four years and have witnessed many explosions ... but I can't leave my work because I have family and live nearby," he said from his hospital bed.
The attack was a fresh example of what the U.S. military is now calling its biggest challenge in cracking down on the sectarian violence in Baghdad — car bombs, which killed at least 14 people in and around the city on Thursday.
The attack began when one bomb went off as a U.S. unit was returning from a search operation in the mostly Shiite area, the military said. Moments later, a second bomb exploded, killing and wounding the soldiers.
A demolition team that searched the site after the attack found an explosively formed projectile, a type of high-tech bomb which the U.S. military believes comes from Iran. The device was detonated by the team.
Earlier Thursday, the military said a U.S. soldier was killed the day before in combat in Anbar province, west of Baghdad.
In addition, a Marine assigned to Multi National Force-West also died Wednesday in a non-combat related incident in Anbar, the military said in a separate statement. It did not give more details, saying the incident is under investigation.
Earlier Thursday, a suicide car bomber apparently targeting a senior city official sent a ball of fire tearing through a busy square in a mainly Shiite area in Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least eight people.
The driver detonated his explosives as a convoy carrying the head of the Baghdad city council, Sabir al-Issawi, was passing an Iraqi military checkpoint in the central Karradah neighborhood. The council chief was unharmed, but three of his bodyguards were wounded, his deputy, Naeem al-Qabi said.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the attack, but suicide car bombings are the hallmark of Sunni insurgent groups, particularly al Qaeda in Iraq. It was the second devastating blast to hit the thriving commercial district in four days. An explosives-laden car rammed a flatbed truck packed with Shiite pilgrims there on Sunday, killing 32 people.
In other developments:
Qassim Ismail, who owns a kiosk that sells cigarettes and soft drinks, was wounded by shrapnel Thursday and knocked unconscious.
"I have been working in this place for four years and have witnessed many explosions ... but I can't leave my work because I have family and live nearby," he said from his hospital bed.
The attack was a fresh example of what the U.S. military is now calling its biggest challenge in cracking down on the sectarian violence in Baghdad — car bombs, which killed at least 14 people in and around the city on Thursday.
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Scott Conroy Scott Conroy is a National Political Reporter for RealClearPolitics and a contributor for CBS News.
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