Two Thais among coalition troops slain in spate of Iraq attacks
Two Thais among coalition troops slain in spate of 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.