Two Thais among coalition troops slain in Iraq attacks

Two Thais among coalition troops slain in Iraq attacks

Agencies
Karbala, Iraq

Armed with car bombs, mortars and machine guns, insurgents
launched three coordinated attacks in the southern city of
Karbala on Saturday, killing four coalition soldiers, six Iraqi
police officers and one civilian, military and hospital officials
said.

Two Thai soldiers were among those killed, a Thai foreign
ministry spokesman said.

"The two soldiers were killed in a suicide bomb attack at the
Lima camp," foreign ministry spokesman Sihasak Phuangketkeow told
Reuters.

At least 37 other coalition soldiers, including five
Americans, were injured, U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt in
Baghdad. Some 135 Iraqi civilians and police officers were also
wounded, said Ali al-Arzawi, deputy head of Karbala General
Hospital.

"It was a coordinated, massive attack planned for a big scale
and intended to do much harm," said Maj. Gen. Andrzej
Tyszkiewicz, head of the Polish-led multinational force
responsible for security around Karbala. He gave a news
conference at his headquarters at Camp Babylon that was carried
on Polish television, Associated Press reported.

He said four soldiers were killed, but did not confirm their
nationalities.

"Four car bombs were used, grenade launchers and guns. We have
sent rapid reaction forces and 10 helicopters," Tyszkiewicz said.

The drivers of the car bombs were shot before they could enter
the military bases, Tyszkiewicz said.

One car bomb detonated in front of the main Iraqi police
station in Karbala, injuring five soldiers from the U.S. Army's
18th Military Police Brigade as well as an undetermined number of
Iraqi police, said Lt. Col. Tom Evans, deputy commander of the
brigade.

None of the American injuries was life-threatening, and two
men were detained in connection with the bombing, Evans said.

"There were different types of attacks at different places,"
said U.S. Maj. Ralph Manos, a spokesman for the multinational
force, saying they targeted two military camps at the local
university as well as the police station.

Col. Mariusz Michalski, another coalition spokesman, told the
Polish news agency PAP that two soldiers died at the Bulgarian
camp. He did not confirm their nationality.