Blasts hit Iraq ministry, hotels; U.S. soldier dies in separate attack

By Seattle Times news services

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The violence came a day after a truck bomb exploded near a Kurdish party office in the northern oil city of Kirkuk, killing five people and wounding 30 in an attack local officials blamed on Islamic extremists linked to al-Qaida. It was the second bombing this week against Iraqis who cooperate with the U.S. occupation.

Also yesterday, a bomb that was detonated as a U.S. convoy drove past killed one American soldier and wounded two near the restive Iraqi town of Ramadi, a military spokeswoman told Reuters. The attack brought to 180 the number of U.S. soldiers killed in action in Iraq since major combat was declared over May 1.

In two nearly simultaneous attacks just after 7 a.m., attackers led donkey carts carrying rocket launchers up to a street near the hotels and another outside the oil ministry, said Col. Peter Mansoor of the U.S. 1st Armored Division. He said eight rockets hit the oil ministry, although only two of them detonated. He also said one rocket hit the Palestine Hotel and another hit the next-door Sheraton.

But the impact from at least five rockets could be seen at the 18-story Palestine Hotel. One man was carried out on a stretcher, bleeding from his head. Medics had attached an intravenous tube.

"My neighbor's room was hit pretty bad," said Steven Akana, 49, a contractor with a U.S. company staying at the hotel.

On Saadoun Street, which runs alongside the Palestine Hotel, police and soldiers discovered a rocket launcher atop a donkey cart with the capacity to fire 30 rockets.

Mansoor said another rocket launcher, also on a donkey cart, was found near the oil ministry, which was closed today, the Muslim day of prayer. No casualties were reported there.

The powerful explosion yesterday morning in Kirkuk shattered windows and damaged doors at the two-story, yellow-and-green building of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan. It also blew out windows of a nearby radio-television station.

Mayor Abdul Rahman Mustapha also described the attack in Kirkuk as a suicide bombing.

Jalal Johar, a PUK official, blamed Ansar al-Islam, a militant Kurdish group linked to the al-Qaida terror network, and its allies — other Muslim extremist groups and remnants of Saddam Hussein's regime.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan is one of two ethnic Kurdish parties that have supported the U.S.-led coalition. Both are represented on the Iraq's U.S.-installed Governing Council. The PUK leader, Jalal Talabani, is now president of the 25-member council.

Also yesterday, a U.S. general said the 12-day "Operation Iron Hammer" offensive against insurgents in the capital had reduced guerrilla attacks in the city by 70 percent. Brig. Gen. Martin Dempsey, commander of the 1st Armored Division, said the campaign will now focus on using intelligence to disrupt rebel strikes

U.S. officials said the U.S.-backed mayor of Fallujah, a deeply anti-American city west of Baghdad, resigned yesterday after mounting criticism of his performance and ties to the Americans. Last month, Mayor Taha Bedawi fled his office when it was attacked and torched by angry residents.

In Basra, the Assyrian Democratic Movement said its representative on the municipal council, Sargoun Nanou Murado, was abducted Tuesday on his way to work. His body was found Wednesday. The party, which represents Iraq's Assyrian minority, also is represented on the Governing Council.

The upsurge in attacks on Iraqis has coincided with the U.S. military crackdown against insurgents, which has apparently prompted the insurgents to tone down attacks against soldiers and focus instead on their Iraqi allies. Coalition officials believe the guerrillas may be stepping up their intimidation campaign to disrupt plans to transfer power to a provisional government by July 1.

Two gunmen opened fire before dawn yesterday outside the new Jordanian Embassy in Baghdad, killing an Iraqi security guard before fleeing, police said.

In Samara, north of the capital, U.S. troops killed 10 Iraqis after gunmen attacked a coalition convoy Wednesday, Lt. Col. William MacDonald said. Two of the attackers were killed in the initial exchange. Eight others were killed when gunmen attacked U.S. reinforcements, who returned fire with M-1A1 Abrams tanks and an Apache helicopter, MacDonald said. Iraqi witnesses said some of the dead were civilians caught in the crossfire.

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