Iraqi Suicide Attacks Fall Short
The U.S. military repulsed two suicide attacks on American bases Tuesday — one in the far north and a second in Baghdad — thwarting bombers with stepped-up defenses after a series of deadly suicide attacks stretching back to August.
Although damage was extensive because the car exploded outside a heavily fortified military base, CBS News Correspondent Thalia Assuras reports none of the injuries were life-threatening. Most of the injuries were the result of flying debris than blast from the bomb.
Only eight U.S. soldiers had to be evacuated for treatment in both attacks, the latest in the string of suicide missions that have hit mainly non-American targets. One of the attacks was at a base for the 101st Airborne Division.
In other recent developments:
The soldiers' deaths bring to 448 the number of U.S. troops who have died in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion on March 20. Of those, 308 have died as a result of hostile action.
Near Fallujah, 30 miles west of the capital, witnesses said guerrillas hit a U.S. reconnaissance helicopter with a rocket-propelled grenade, forcing it to make a hard landing. The two crew members from the 82nd Airborne Division walked away, the military said.
The attack on the base in Talafar, 30 miles north of Mosul, occurred at 4:45 a.m. when an explosives-packed car drove to the base gate. Guards there and in a watchtower opened fire on the vehicle. Moments later it exploded, leaving a large crater just outside the base gate.
Col. Michael Linnington, commander of the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, which controls the Mosul region and the area west to the Syrian border, said the attacker's remains were "all over the compound."
Maj. Trey Cate, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said 59 soldiers were injured.
"Eight soldiers were medically evacuated, of which four were sent to Baghdad," Cate said. The other 51 soldiers were slightly injured by debris and flying glass, he said.
Several Iraqis were injured, including a translator at the base. The blast damaged nearby homes. A 2-year-old girl was among many civilians hurt by flying glass.
The early morning blast occurred when most soldiers were still in their barracks, and there was no traffic around the gate.
Pieces of the attacker's car were scattered hundreds of yards away. A school across the street from the military compound was heavily damaged, but no pupils were injured. School was not yet in session.
Hazem Ismail, a 40-year-old school teacher, said several pieces of the car hit his house, shattering the window of room where his five children were sleeping.
"The kids woke up terrified from their beds, but thank God none of them were harmed," he said.
Later Tuesday, the second suicide attacker blew himself up outside a U.S. Army compound near Baghdad, slightly injuring two soldiers, the military said.
A man acting suspiciously walked toward the gates of the base in Husseiniya, 15 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Maj. Josslyn Aberle, a U.S. military spokeswoman. When military police opened fire after the man refused to stop, he blew himself up.
The suicide bombings at military bases in northern Iraq came amid escalating violence against U.S. troops in the area, reports CBS News Correspondent Lisa Barron. In the past few days, two American soldiers have died in combat in Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad. One was killed in a drive-by shooting, and the other by a roadside bomb. Until recently, most attacks took place in the western towns of Fallujah and Ramadi, in the so-called Sunni triangle.
Suicide attackers in Iraq have seldom, if ever, attempted attacks with explosives attached to their bodies. Vehicle bombs have been the norm.