2 convoys attacked in Baghdad

BAGHDAD – Two US convoys were attacked only a kilometre apart in Baghdad yesterday, and US soldiers in one of the attacks opened fire, killing one Iraqi driving nearby and wounding six others, witnesses and hospital officials said.

The violence in the capital came as Iraqi security officials were investigating who was behind one of the most sophisticated guerrilla attacks yet in Iraq – a bold daylight assault by dozens of fighters on a police station in Fallujah, west of Baghdad, in which 25 people were killed, most of them policemen. In Qaim, near the Syrian border about 320 km northwest of Baghdad, US troops backed by tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles clashed yesterday with Iraqi gunmen, but there was no report of casualties.Residents said gunmen attacked the Americans in retaliation for a US operation against suspected smugglers the day before.Also yesterday, the military said an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper died when his vehicle overturned near Baghdad a day earlier.There were conflicting reports who may have been behind the Fallujah attacks.Police claimed foreigners, either Arabs or Iranians, were involved and that two of four attackers killed in the battle had Lebanese identification papers.Rumours spread in the city that an Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim militia with links to Iran, the Badr Brigade, were to blame.But a US military officer in Baghdad said the attack’s sophistication pointed to former members of Saddam Hussein’s military.The assault involved two simultaneous attacks: one group of gunmen overran the police station, freeing dozens of prisoners being held there, while a second team pinned down Iraqi security forces at a nearby compound with a half-hour barrage of fire to prevent them from helping the policemen.Yesterday, a roadside bomb went off as a US military patrol passed by in western Baghdad, causing no injuries.The American soldiers opened fire wildly in response, shooting three vehicles, witnesses said.One Iraqi was killed and six wounded, hospital officials said.- Nampa-APIn Qaim, near the Syrian border about 320 km northwest of Baghdad, US troops backed by tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles clashed yesterday with Iraqi gunmen, but there was no report of casualties. Residents said gunmen attacked the Americans in retaliation for a US operation against suspected smugglers the day before. Also yesterday, the military said an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper died when his vehicle overturned near Baghdad a day earlier. There were conflicting reports who may have been behind the Fallujah attacks. Police claimed foreigners, either Arabs or Iranians, were involved and that two of four attackers killed in the battle had Lebanese identification papers. Rumours spread in the city that an Iraqi Shi’ite Muslim militia with links to Iran, the Badr Brigade, were to blame. But a US military officer in Baghdad said the attack’s sophistication pointed to former members of Saddam Hussein’s military. The assault involved two simultaneous attacks: one group of gunmen overran the police station, freeing dozens of prisoners being held there, while a second team pinned down Iraqi security forces at a nearby compound with a half-hour barrage of fire to prevent them from helping the policemen. Yesterday, a roadside bomb went off as a US military patrol passed by in western Baghdad, causing no injuries. The American soldiers opened fire wildly in response, shooting three vehicles, witnesses said. One Iraqi was killed and six wounded, hospital officials said. – Nampa-AP