Wednesday, February 20, 2008
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — As many as 15 Iraqi policemen responding to an attack against U.S. bases were killed Tuesday when rockets, set to be launched from the back of a truck, exploded before the officers could defuse them, officials said.
Four U.S. soldiers were wounded when the initial rockets slammed into their outposts in the capital, the military said, the second rocket attack against American targets in two days.
Nobody claimed responsibility for the anti-U.S. attacks, but in both cases the rockets apparently were launched from Shiite militia strongholds in the capital, raising concern about renewed activity ahead of a deadline for cleric Muqtada al-Sadr to renew a cease-fire order.
The U.S. military has expressed hope the radical cleric will extend the cease-fire, but insisted on continuing to target what it says are Iranian-backed breakaway factions in raids that have alienated his followers.
The American outposts that were hit were close to each other, and the attacks happened within five minutes, according to Sgt. Nicole Dykstra, a military spokeswoman. One soldier was wounded in the first attack, while three were wounded in the second strike before Iraqi police responded, she said.
The blast that killed the Iraqis took place after police, acting on a tip, discovered the rockets primed for firing in the back of a truck behind a deserted ice factory in the predominantly Shiite area of Obeidi in eastern Baghdad.