3 U.S. soldiers die when hidden bomb explodes

By Megan K. Stack and Alissa J. Rubin
Los Angeles Times

	KARAM HUSSEIN / AP A car-bomb explosion in Mosul, Iraq, yesterday hurled car wreckage onto the entryway of police headquarters, left the building in flames and toppled sections of a concrete barrier, crushing parked cars beneath it. Police stations have become a common target in Iraq.
	E-mail this article Print this article Search archive

MOSUL, Iraq — A bomb-laden car barreled into a barricade and exploded at police headquarters in this northern city yesterday, killing nine Iraqi officers. Three U.S. soldiers were also killed in Iraq's north.

In addition, at least five Iraqi civilians died in a Baghdad rocket attack, bringing the grisly toll on the eve of a sacred Muslim feast to 17.

And another U.S. soldier died yesterday from wounds sustained in a roadside bomb attack west of Baghdad last week, the military said today.

An Army statement said the soldier, who was attached to Task Force "All American," was wounded Tuesday.

The latest carnage comes amid U.S. warnings that insurgents are increasingly targeting Iraqis who work or associate with American troops. Iraqi police have been particularly vulnerable — their headquarters are frequent targets — and more than 300 officers have been killed in insurgent strikes since the U.S.-led coalition occupied Iraq last spring.

The three soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division were killed early yesterday when a hidden bomb detonated as their convoy traveled about 25 miles southwest of Kirkuk, the military said in a statement. No other details were available.

Their deaths brought to 525 the number of U.S. troops who have died since the war began March 20, according to unofficial tallies. Since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat over, 385 Americans have died, 250 of them from hostile action.

Meanwhile, American officials have received useful information from direct interrogation of Saddam Hussein, a senior military official said today.

The official would not say what the information was, but he said it allowed interrogators to confirm some suspicions and reject other information.

Speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity, the official said both documents and the results of questioning of Saddam have allowed the military to hunt for some people involved in attacks on U.S. troops.

He said military officials believe there are 14 cells of Saddam sympathizers in the Baghdad area and that many of them had already lost their leaders in U.S. raids.

A number of blasts could be heard late yesterday in Baghdad, and a police official said at least five people were killed and four wounded when a mortar or rocket plunged into the city's densely populated Baladiyyat district.

The series of attacks immediately raised fears that violence could escalate during the four-day holiday of Eid al Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, when each Muslim family traditionally comes together. Insurgents in Iraq have previously struck on significant holidays, including Oct. 27, the first day of Ramadan, when coordinated suicide attacks in Baghdad killed at least 35 people.

Yesterday's blast in Mosul, believed to be the work of a suicide bomber, was the first such attack there with a large number of fatalities. The police officers were killed as they lined up for paychecks that included a bonus for dangerous duty.

Located on a busy boulevard, the police station had been hit with gunfire repeatedly in recent months, according to police and U.S. soldiers at the scene. Tall concrete protective barriers were erected three days before the blast, but witnesses said the car approached the building from the side, which allowed access inside the protective barriers.

The explosion hurled the charred wreck of a car onto the entryway of the police station, left the building in flames and toppled several sections of the concrete barrier, crushing parked cars beneath it.

"They are really cowards," policeman Manhal Usan, 32, fumed from his hospital cot. "If they want to face us, let them do it man to man. But they'll never do that."

Like many of the nearly 40 men wounded in yesterday's blast, Usan insisted that he works for his countrymen, not for the Americans. He's been a policeman for 17 years.

An Iraqi civilian, Imanuel Khoshaba, said he noticed the crowd of policemen in front of the station as he arrived at work at the Assyrian Party Headquarters a few doors down. Spirits were high among the officers. It was a sunny morning, the day before the four-day holiday.

A few minutes later, the street trembled. Witnesses said a car cut across the traffic, slammed through a security barricade and exploded.

The blast left a crater in the street. Khoshaba said he dashed out to a street of burning cars, scattered limbs and bleeding, stunned men. He drove as many wounded as he could to the hospital.

U.S. officials have pointed to the rash of vehicle bombings as evidence that Osama bin Laden's terrorist network may be trying to gain a foothold in Iraq.

Material from The Associated Press and Chicago Tribune is included in this report.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company