Troops die in Iraq blasts

06/09/2010| IslamWeb

At least 12 people, including four soldiers, have been killed and 29 others wounded after five bombers armed with rifles attempted to storm an army base in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

Sunday's attack came less than a week after Washington declared US combat operations in Iraq over.

Two attackers blew themselves up at the back gate of the compound after being shot, while a third detonated a minibus packed with explosives at the entrance.

The remaining two fought an hour-long gun battle with troops before being killed, Major-General Qassim al-Moussawi, a Baghdad security spokesman, said.

All five of the attackers involved in Sunday's assault on the military base were wearing suicide vests, said al-Moussawi, and arrived at the back gate of the military base in a minibus.

'Bodies and body parts'

"There are bodies and body parts but we don't know if they belong to attackers or civilians," al-Moussawi said.

The US military said its troops opened fire and provided air support for Iraqi forces during the gunbattle. US forces are no longer officially on a combat mission in Iraq, but nearly 50,000 remain to 'train and assist' the Iraqi military.

US military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Eric Bloom said US troops provided "suppressive fire" during the attack, as well as support through helicopters and drones. US explosives experts were also brought in to examine the site.

The assault took place in broad daylight, just over two weeks after dozens of Iraqi army recruits and soldiers were killed by another bomber at the same base.

The base in the Bab al-Muadham neighborhood was a defense ministry headquarters under Saddam Hussein, Iraqi's former president, and now serves as an army recruitment centre as well as a military command centre.

Iraqi fighters are targeting police and troops as the US military gradually pulls out more than seven years after the invasion.

Residents of the Bab al-Muadham neighborhood reported heavy shooting after the explosions and said the gunfire continued for over an hour.

PHOTO CAPTION

Iraqi soldiers deploy at the site of bomb attack in Baghdad September 5, 2010.

Al-Jazeera