A suicide car bomber attacked U.S. forces on patrol in western Iraq, killing four and wounding one, the U.S. military said Saturday. The incident happened Friday near the town of Qaem near the border with Syria.
Earlier it was reported that a U.S. soldier died of wounds suffered in a car bomb attack in the northern city of Mosul. A statement on Saturday by the U.S. command said the incident occurred Friday in the east-central area of Mosul.
Al-Jazeera television said a car bomb exploded near an American convoy headed to the city of Tal Afar.
Also in Mosul, an Iraqi press photographer working for a European agency was shot dead outside his home. Karam Hussein, who worked for the European Press Agency, was approached by four masked men who shot him and then fled, AFP said.
Elsewhere, a string of explosions hit five churches across Baghdad early Saturday though no casualties have been reported, the Iraqi Interior Ministry said.
According to The AP, the blasts were in quick succession over an hour and half starting at 4 a.m. at St. Joseph Church in the Nafaq Al-Shurta area, stated ministry spokesman Col. Adnan Abdul-Rahman.
The other churches hit were St. Jacob's Church and St. George's Church in the Doura neighborhood, the Church of Rome in the Karrada neighborhood and St. Thomas Church in the Mansour area.
Abdul-Rahman said the churches all had some exterior damage, with windows blown out.
Also in Baghdad, mortar attacks hit a local hospital Saturday, killing an employee and injuring three others, officials said. A mortar round exploded in the garden of the Ibn al-Betar hospital just after a blast in the parking lot of the nearby al-Mansour Hotel, a hospital official said, according to The AP.
Meanwhile, it is reported that some British troops could be sent to help US forces in the most volatile areas in Iraq and be put under American command. British troops are currently based in the south of Iraq, with their headquarters in Basra.
Reports indicated some could be moved to Baghdad to help American soldiers to allow US forces in the capital to join the assault on Fallujah. (albawaba.com)
© 2004 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
