BAGHDAD, Oct. 11, 2007

Main U.S. Base Near Baghdad Attacked

Rocket Or Mortar Kills 2 Coalition Soldiers And Wounds 38 Others

    • Detainees wait for their release from a U.S.-run facility at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Oct. 10, 2007. About 60 a day were released during Ramadan – which ended Wednesday - as a goodwill gesture by the U.S.

      Detainees wait for their release from a U.S.-run facility at Camp Victory in Baghdad, Oct. 10, 2007. About 60 a day were released during Ramadan – which ended Wednesday - as a goodwill gesture by the U.S.  (AP)

    • The aftermath of an Oct. 10, 2007 car bombing in Tikrit, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's hometown. The explosion, near a market, killed a policeman and a civilian and wounded another policeman and three other civilians.

      The aftermath of an Oct. 10, 2007 car bombing in Tikrit, Iraq - Saddam Hussein's hometown. The explosion, near a market, killed a policeman and a civilian and wounded another policeman and three other civilians.  (AP)

    • Karon (left) and Nora, daughters of Marou Awanis, one of two Christian women killed Oct. 9, 2007, in Baghdad by members of a private security firm, are seen here the next day at their mother's funeral in Baghdad.

      Karon (left) and Nora, daughters of Marou Awanis, one of two Christian women killed Oct. 9, 2007, in Baghdad by members of a private security firm, are seen here the next day at their mother's funeral in Baghdad.  (AP)

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(CBS/AP)  A rocket attack on the main U.S. base near Baghdad killed two members of the U.S.-led coalition forces and wounded 40 people, the military said Thursday.

The attack occurred Wednesday at the Camp Victory, a sprawling garrison that houses the headquarters of American forces in Iraq, according to a statement. The military says insurgents fired rockets on the camp from a nearby abandoned school.

Two coalition force members were killed and 38 wounded, the military said. It also said two "third country nationals" were wounded. It did not identity them further, but military spokesman Lt. Col. Rudolph Burwell said the term usually refers to foreign contractors and not Iraqis or Americans.

The attack is under investigation, the statement said.

CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports that because of the timing and accuracy of this latest attack, some officials suspect a spy inside Camp Victory is telling the enemy exactly when and where to aim.

Most troops stationed at Camp Victory are American but other coalition soldiers are based at the complex near Baghdad International Airport. No further details on the attack were immediately released.

Camp Victory and other U.S. bases in Iraq have frequently come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties are rare.

On Sept. 11, one person was killed and 11 were wounded in a rocket attack. The U.S. military said a 240 mm rocket provided to Shiite extremists by Iran was used in that attack.

The U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies and the Iraqi government headquarters, is far more vulnerable as it is situated in central Baghdad.

In other recent developments:

  • Republican presidential hopeful John McCain is calling for stepped up oversight of private security firms in Iraq. Speaking on the campaign trail in Iowa Wednesday, the Arizona senator said private security contractors like Blackwater USA were needed because U.S. troops were stretched too thin. McCain says the reason Blackwater was in Iraq is because the U.S. never had enough troops on the ground.

  • The Associated Press reports the State Department, reacting to last month's Blackwater shooting, is considering limiting or phasing out the use of private security contractors to guard U.S. diplomats in Iraq. A state department official, speaking anonymously, tells CBS News correspondent Kimberly Dozier that replacing private contractors with government Diplomatic Security agents would be difficult - as the department is already fighting manpower issues to try to get just one Diplomatic Security agent into each convoy. "We used to have agents in every vehicle... and cameras and recording equipment," said the source, until just over a year ago, when the last head of diplomatic security decided to stop that, because he had a manpower shortage, they had lost three agents, and didn't want to lose any more.

  • Indiana Senator Evan Bayh and Congressman Dan Burton are asking the secretary of the Army for a speedy investigation of the death of 32-year-old Sergeant Gerald Cassidy. The Indiana National Guardsman was injured in a roadside explosion in Iraq more than 15 months ago. He arrived at Fort Knox, Ky., in April and died last month. His mother says he was denied pain medication and had not been seen by doctors for days.

  • Police say clashes Thursday between suspected al Qaeda gunmen and police at checkpoints in Abbara left at least one officer dead and two others wounded. One gunman was killed and several others fled.

  • Also Thursday, five Iraqi civilians were shot to death and four others were wounded in a morning attack on a minibus making its way from Khalis to Kirkuk.

    Continued



    © MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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    Add a Comment See all 31 Comments
    by speakinup October 14, 2007 10:48 PM EDT
    Gee - does anyone remember when this used to be a daily event ? Did our news media fall asleep, or has it been a while since this has happened ?

    Oh - but listen to the die-hard far left, still hoping this will win the election for Hillary - "It''s the second tet offensive! The sky is falling, the sky is falling!"

    Reply to this comment
    by firststate October 12, 2007 1:10 AM EDT
    In the useless, counterproductive war like Iraq, one casualty is one too many.

    (Unless it''s somebody like terrorislam1. That would be a sacrifice we could steel ourselves to endure.)

    Posted by Iceman_1960

    You''re right. We, Americans could handle the tragic loss of one such as terrorislam1lars008screamingprick, but not the loss of more of our brave military. The surge was to buy some breathing room for the Iraqis to accomplish reconciliation. The Iraqis say that''s not going to happen. Time to end the surge, reinstate the declaration of "Mission Accomplished" and get our soldiers out of the civil war that bushit guaranteed. Or, is the reason for continuing the surge going to become the same kind of moving target as the reason for the war has been?
    Reply to this comment
    by tucano2 October 11, 2007 9:34 PM EDT
    Anyone taking bets how many minutes from time of official opening the USA "Embassy Compound" in Iraq will still be standing???

    Our bet - less than 10 minutes to turn that hugely expensive white elephant into dust. Your guess?
    Reply to this comment
    by walt1944-2009 October 11, 2007 8:47 PM EDT
    Vietnam!

    Are we there yet?

    The TET Offensive (Act II) may have begun!

    SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!
    Reply to this comment
    by j-whitman October 11, 2007 5:40 PM EDT
    terrorislam1,,,,, Lars pay attention
    --- Defense Secretary Gates & the Army''''s Chief of Staff wants to increase our military to restore our Military''''s Ready Strategic Reserves --------- Taxes will pay for it & the equipment & training they will need ----
    ------- Support the Troops this time with a bit of reality, we might be able to actually win a war in the future instead of losing as in the Bush administration.
    Reply to this comment
    by terrorislam1 October 11, 2007 5:35 PM EDT
    DEMS PLAN TRILLION DOLLAR TAX BILL
    The trillion dollar tax fight
    By now, everyone knows Rep. Charles B. Rangel is poised to introduce the %u201Cmother%u201D of all tax reforms, the biggest and most expensive tax code overhaul since 1986.
    http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1007/6250.html
    Reply to this comment
    by j-whitman October 11, 2007 5:31 PM EDT
    terrorislam1,,,,, Go back to bed Lars008, you are not helping the War on Terror --- You are fueling it
    Reply to this comment
    by terrorislam1 October 11, 2007 5:24 PM EDT
    TERRORISLAM GIVES CHRISTIANS ULTIMATUM

    Muslims tell Christians: ''Make peace with us or survival of world is at stake''
    http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23416235-details/Muslims+tell Christians%3A ''Make peace with us or survival of world is at stake''/article.do
    Reply to this comment
    by prinzowhales October 11, 2007 5:05 PM EDT
    Troops Home Now! The rationale for this, the Stupid Peoples'' War, has evaporated. This war is for Oil... it is for Israel... and it''s Afghanistani front is for Opium.

    Actually, the Regime and the Oligarchy that it fronts for has achieved its primary goals..It has restored opium production in Afghanistan. It has reduced Iraq to impotence and is on the fast track to dividing it up, as the Zio-Nazi Senate of the United States resolved recently to do in accordance with decades-old Israeli strategic designs. It has seized control of Iraqs Oil fields so that Iraqi oil will not serve to drive down the price of OPEC/ARAMCO production. It is on a relentless propaganda drive to launch an attack on Iran and control its production as well. And, the leading candidates of the mainstream parties running for the presidency are supporting continuation of the war and an attack on Iran.

    If you don''t vote for Paul, Kucinich or Gravel-- you are getting 4-8 more years of Bush policies.
    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 October 11, 2007 5:02 PM EDT
    "Police In Vienna Arrest Man After Finding Grenades, Islamic Literature In His Bag"
    - Posted by terrorislam1 at 01:12 PM : Oct 11, 2007

    Going around with a handbag -- I hope it matched his shoes.

    What a sissy.
    Reply to this comment
    by iceman_1960 October 11, 2007 4:55 PM EDT
    "Just when is two (although it is a tragic loss) a large number of casualties?"
    - Posted by radiob at 08:15 AM : Oct 11, 2007

    In World War II it wouldn''t have been.

    In the useless, counterproductive war like Iraq, one casualty is one too many.

    (Unless it''s somebody like terrorislam1. That would be a sacrifice we could steel ourselves to endure.)
    Reply to this comment
    by terrorislam1 October 11, 2007 4:12 PM EDT
    IS EUROPE WAKING UP TO FASCIST NAZI TERRORISLAM!!! WILL THE DEMONIC-RATS???
    Germany considers increased spying on Muslims
    http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/19539.html
    Swiss expulsion proposal draws criticism
    Under the plan, entire families would be expelled if their children are convicted of a violent crime, drug offenses or benefits fraud.
    "We believe that parents are responsible for bringing up their children. If they can''t do it properly, they will have to bear the consequences," Ueli Maurer, president of the People''s Party, told The Associated Press.
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070901/ap_on_re_eu/switzerland_deportation_campaign
    http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article2938940.ece
    http://www.iht.com/bin/print.php?id=7787528
    Netherlands sets plan against extremism
    The Dutch government will spend $38 million over the next four years to prevent both the growth of Islamic fundamentalism and right-wing nationalism, an official said Monday.
    http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070827/ap_on_re_eu/netherlands_extremists_1
    Germany Wants to Spy on Suspects Via Web
    http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8RC4F2O1&show_article=1
    EU mulls Internet clampdown to combat %u201Cterrorism%u201D
    http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071001154843.cjbfw3h8&show_article=1
    Austria Nabs Armed Man At U.S. Embassy
    Police In Vienna Arrest Man After Finding Grenades, Islamic Literature In His Bag
    http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/10/01/world/main3314322.shtml?mpid=1732
    Reply to this comment
    by smirk5 October 11, 2007 2:43 PM EDT
    More dead soldiers+zero political progress=winning

    if you''re a Republican.
    Reply to this comment
    by nirak2-2009 October 11, 2007 2:31 PM EDT
    Camp Victory? What Victory would that be? ROFL
    Reply to this comment
    by clestes-2009 October 11, 2007 1:45 PM EDT
    Are we still winning???
    Reply to this comment
    by rharrin1 October 11, 2007 12:21 PM EDT
    Just when is two (although it is a tragic loss) a large number of casualties?

    Posted by radiob at 08:15 AM : Oct 11, 2007

    Just how many would it take to satisfy your lust for blood?
    Reply to this comment
    by trillion1 October 11, 2007 12:18 PM EDT
    bush''s goals are not American goals. Americans do not want to be hated around the world, Americans did not want a national debt larger that the total debt of all administrations in our history, Americans did not want our EPA, FDA, DHS ect. totally corrupted. This was all done in less than 7 years by bush.
    Reply to this comment
    by shothelite October 11, 2007 12:09 PM EDT

    "NO government services should be "privatized." If it''''s a taxpayer funded service, it should be performed by government employees. "

    Posted by tuckerndfw

    So you think a huge government is the answer? I dont. I think most of this guffaw should be flushed and left to each individual State to regulate, like its supposed to be. The military, on the other hand, should be dealing with the military goals, and a substantial part of that comes from private industry. That goes back as far back as the first army depending on farmers for its subsistence.
    Reply to this comment
    by shothelite October 11, 2007 12:05 PM EDT
    Sure enough.

    People like McVet try to create an image that they are behind America and represent American goals. That could not be further from the truth. The truth is these types are nothing more than sheep following poor and untrusting, ill defined goals. They are the only ones out there that will believe the conspiracy theories that are spread on the internet with out researching the stories themselves. If they did, they would know that most of the stories are just that, just stories.
    Reply to this comment
    by tbweb October 11, 2007 12:03 PM EDT
    Vote in the 2008 Elections based on the facts on the ground and our brave soldiers in the ground!
    Reply to this comment
    See all 31 Comments
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