Many Iraqis Killed in Car bomb Attack as more Marines Die

03/11/2005| IslamWeb

A car bomb explosion in an outdoor market packed with shoppers  has killed 23 people and wounded more than 60, south of Baghdad.

Also on Wednesday, six US troops were killed, including two in a helicopter crash west of the Iraqi capital.

Interior Ministry officials said a car bomb struck outside Musayyib city, killing at least 23 people and wounding more than 60.

The attack came on the last day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan as people prepared for the three-day Eid holiday, which is to start on Thursday.

Musayyib has been hit by several attacks, including one in July when a bomber blew up a fuel truck, killing 98 people and wounding 75 more.

"They want to kill people before the feast," said Nagat Hassoun, 50, who lived a few hundred yards from the blast site. "They want people to stay at home and live in a tragedy. The aim is to cause sabotage. They're targeting the Shia."

"The insurgents wanted to cause as many casualties as possible," said police Captain Muthanna Khalid.

Marines killed

Two US marines were killed in a helicopter crash in western Iraq during the day.

The marines died when their Super Cobra helicopter crashed on Wednesday outside the defiant Sunni Arab city of Ramadi, the US military said.

The helicopter "was flying in support of security and stabilisation operations", a statement said. The cause of the morning crash was still under investigation.

Eyewitnesses in Ramadi said the helicopter came under fire from the ground before it crashed.

The helicopter came down in the Albo Ubaid district. US forces quickly cordoned off the area while more helicopters flew overhead.

A US marine and sailor were also killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Ramadi.

In Balad, 80km north of Baghdad, a US soldier was mortally wounded when his patrol came under small arms fire. The sixth fatality was a soldier from the US Army's Task Force Baghdad who was killed by a roadside bomb on Wednesday in a southern district of the capital, the military said.

The latest deaths follow the fourth-deadliest month for American troops since the US-led invasion of Iraq. Most of the 95 Americans killed in October were victims of roadside bombs.

PHOTO CAPTION

US Soldiers from the First Battalion, 17th Infantry reacts as shots from a sniper were heard in a market in Mosul.(AFP)