BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents fired mortar rounds at a U.S. base on the outskirts of Baghdad's airport Wednesday, wounding 11 soldiers and starting a fire that burned for over an hour.
That attack - along with a car bombing outside a police headquarters in Samawah, 150 miles south of the capital - added to the evidence that insurgents have no plans of letting up attacks, even after U.S. coalition authorities handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on Monday.
Meanwhile, residents in Fallujah said by telephone that blasts from U.S. airstrikes shook the eastern end of the city early Thursday, though there was no confirmation from the U.S. military of any attack.
Loai Ali, a doctor at Fallujah General Hospital, said four people were killed and 10 were injured. Any airstrike in Fallujah would be the fourth this month against what the Americans believe are hideouts of the Tawhid and Jihad movement of Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
With the end of the occupation, about 160,000 foreign troops, mostly American, remain in Iraq to provide security and train Iraq's new security services. U.S. officials have warned that the transfer of sovereignty would not stop assaults.
Meanwhile, police slapped a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Wednesday, a day after discovering about 150 pounds of explosives in a white BMW, police Brig. Ghalib al-Jazaari said.
One Libyan man who allegedly entered Iraq from neighboring Syria to fight U.S. forces was detained in connection with the incident, al-Jazaari said.
The police chief also said militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kidnapped 25 policemen Tuesday in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, in response to the arrest of two of their colleagues but released 16 of them on Wednesday.
Ahmad al-Shibani, an al-Sadr spokesman, confirmed the kidnappings, but said all 25 had been freed. "We just wanted to teach them a lesson," he said.
Guerrillas fired at least 10 mortar rounds at the logistics base on the edge of Baghdad's airport at about 8:15 a.m., said Lt. Col. Richard Rael, their commander. The base is operated by the New Mexico Army National Guard's 515 Corps Support Battalion.
"We're OK," Rael said. "We'll get back to business as usual."
Black smoke hung over the airport for an hour after one of the 82 mm mortar rounds struck a petroleum products yard. The fire caused no injuries.
The base has been subject to almost daily mortar attacks, but this was the first time the attacks caused significant casualties and damage.
Two people were wounded in the car bombing in Samawah, which set two other vehicles ablaze, a hospital official said.
Meanwhile, the United States was still looking for U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun. On Tuesday, his status was changed from "missing" to "captured."
An insurgent group has claimed the kidnapping of Hassoun and has threatened to behead him unless Iraqi prisoners are released. Hassoun was shown blindfolded with a sword brandished over his head in a video aired on Al-Jazeera television.
Hassoun, of Lebanese descent, was last seen about a week before the videotape was broadcast Sunday, the military said.
"The circumstances surrounding the Marine's absence initially indicated that he was missing," a statement by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force said. "However, in light of what we have observed on the terrorists' video, we have classified him as captured."
The New York Times, citing a Marine officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported Wednesday that Hassoun had been traumatized after seeing one of his sergeants killed by a mortar and was trying to make his way back to Lebanon. The officer told the paper that Hassoun sought the help of Iraqis on the base, was betrayed by them and was handed over to the extremists.
Hassoun's eldest brother, Mohammad, who lives in a Salt Lake City suburb, denied the report.
"To me it has no foundation. It's all wrong," Mohammad Hassoun said Tuesday night.
In Baghdad, a senior U.S. military official said Hassoun was missed after he failed to report for duty on June 20.
"It is highly unlikely that he was taken," the official said, on condition of anonymity. "We are investigating all possible circumstances that could have led to his failure to report to duty."
Capt. Amy Malugani, spokeswoman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton, declined to comment on the report Tuesday. She also would not say what steps the Marines were taking to rescue Hassoun.
Separately, a 1st Armored Division soldier was killed and four others were injured during a traffic accident near the Kuwait border on Wednesday night, the U.S. military said. The accident was non-combat related, the military said.
Associated Press
That attack - along with a car bombing outside a police headquarters in Samawah, 150 miles south of the capital - added to the evidence that insurgents have no plans of letting up attacks, even after U.S. coalition authorities handed over sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on Monday.
Meanwhile, residents in Fallujah said by telephone that blasts from U.S. airstrikes shook the eastern end of the city early Thursday, though there was no confirmation from the U.S. military of any attack.
Loai Ali, a doctor at Fallujah General Hospital, said four people were killed and 10 were injured. Any airstrike in Fallujah would be the fourth this month against what the Americans believe are hideouts of the Tawhid and Jihad movement of Jordanian-born extremist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
With the end of the occupation, about 160,000 foreign troops, mostly American, remain in Iraq to provide security and train Iraq's new security services. U.S. officials have warned that the transfer of sovereignty would not stop assaults.
Meanwhile, police slapped a 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew on the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Wednesday, a day after discovering about 150 pounds of explosives in a white BMW, police Brig. Ghalib al-Jazaari said.
One Libyan man who allegedly entered Iraq from neighboring Syria to fight U.S. forces was detained in connection with the incident, al-Jazaari said.
The police chief also said militiamen loyal to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr kidnapped 25 policemen Tuesday in Najaf, 100 miles south of Baghdad, in response to the arrest of two of their colleagues but released 16 of them on Wednesday.
Ahmad al-Shibani, an al-Sadr spokesman, confirmed the kidnappings, but said all 25 had been freed. "We just wanted to teach them a lesson," he said.
Guerrillas fired at least 10 mortar rounds at the logistics base on the edge of Baghdad's airport at about 8:15 a.m., said Lt. Col. Richard Rael, their commander. The base is operated by the New Mexico Army National Guard's 515 Corps Support Battalion.
"We're OK," Rael said. "We'll get back to business as usual."
Black smoke hung over the airport for an hour after one of the 82 mm mortar rounds struck a petroleum products yard. The fire caused no injuries.
The base has been subject to almost daily mortar attacks, but this was the first time the attacks caused significant casualties and damage.
Two people were wounded in the car bombing in Samawah, which set two other vehicles ablaze, a hospital official said.
Meanwhile, the United States was still looking for U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun. On Tuesday, his status was changed from "missing" to "captured."
An insurgent group has claimed the kidnapping of Hassoun and has threatened to behead him unless Iraqi prisoners are released. Hassoun was shown blindfolded with a sword brandished over his head in a video aired on Al-Jazeera television.
Hassoun, of Lebanese descent, was last seen about a week before the videotape was broadcast Sunday, the military said.
"The circumstances surrounding the Marine's absence initially indicated that he was missing," a statement by the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force said. "However, in light of what we have observed on the terrorists' video, we have classified him as captured."
The New York Times, citing a Marine officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported Wednesday that Hassoun had been traumatized after seeing one of his sergeants killed by a mortar and was trying to make his way back to Lebanon. The officer told the paper that Hassoun sought the help of Iraqis on the base, was betrayed by them and was handed over to the extremists.
Hassoun's eldest brother, Mohammad, who lives in a Salt Lake City suburb, denied the report.
"To me it has no foundation. It's all wrong," Mohammad Hassoun said Tuesday night.
In Baghdad, a senior U.S. military official said Hassoun was missed after he failed to report for duty on June 20.
"It is highly unlikely that he was taken," the official said, on condition of anonymity. "We are investigating all possible circumstances that could have led to his failure to report to duty."
Capt. Amy Malugani, spokeswoman for the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force from Camp Pendleton, declined to comment on the report Tuesday. She also would not say what steps the Marines were taking to rescue Hassoun.
Separately, a 1st Armored Division soldier was killed and four others were injured during a traffic accident near the Kuwait border on Wednesday night, the U.S. military said. The accident was non-combat related, the military said.
Associated Press
