Thursday, October 11, 2007

Mortar attack on Camp Victory kills at least 2, wounds 40


Above: The Al-Faw Palace, which serves as the headquarters for the Multinational Corps-Iraq, is located on Camp Victory. Below: Sandbagged tent area at Camp Victory. Camp Victory is the primary component of the Victory Base Complex (VBC) that occupies the area surrounding the Baghdad International Airport.

Iraq: Attacks Kills 2 Soldiers

Two members of the U.S.-led coalition force were killed and 40 others were wounded in an attack at Camp Victory, a sprawling base near Baghdad's airport that houses the headquarters of U.S. forces in Iraq, the military said Thursday.

Those wounded in the rocket or mortar attack included two "third country nationals," meaning they were neither American nor Iraqis. Most troops stationed at Camp Victory are American but other coalition soldiers are based there. No further details on the attack were immediately released.

Camp Victory and other U.S. bases in Iraq have frequently come under fire, but attacks with such a large number of casualties are rare.

On Sept. 11, one person was killed and 11 were wounded in a rocket attack. The U.S. military said a 240 mm rocket provided to Shiite extremists by Iran was used in that attack. The U.S.-protected Green Zone, which houses the American and British embassies and the Iraqi government headquarters, is far more vulnerable as it is situated in central Baghdad.

Read the rest at AP Google

Attack on U.S. base in Iraq kills 2, wounds dozens

A Western security contractor at the Camp Victory military base had said he heard nine mortar rounds being fired and four explosions inside the perimeter after dusk on Wednesday.

In a statement, the military said two "third country nationals" had also been wounded.

It gave no details on the nationalities of any of the victims. Besides U.S. troops, small numbers of soldiers from other countries are based at Camp Victory.

Such attacks on the base, the U.S. military's sprawling headquarters near Baghdad airport, are relatively rare. Indirect fire attacks usually refer to mortars or rockets.

Read the rest at Reuters/Alternet

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