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| Iraq-Jordan |
| Mortar Kills Four Iraqis Waiting to Join New Army |
| 2004-05-15 |
| A mortar or grenade attack on Iraqi civilians lining up to join the new Iraqi army killed four people and wounded at least 15 on Saturday, hospital staff and the U.S. military in the northern city of Mosul said. Men were queuing at the entrance to a base set up for recruitment in an industrial area in eastern Mosul when the attack happened at 10:35 a.m. (0635 GMT), police said. They said a mortar bomb landed in the crowd. A U.S. military spokesman blamed rocket or rocket-propelled grenade fire. The coroner at a nearby hospital said at least three people had been killed in the attack. Hospital staff said 17 were wounded, two of whom were in a serious condition. Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Piek, a spokesman for U.S. forces in the region, said later four had died and 15 were wounded. Anti-American guerrillas have frequently targeted Iraqis joining new, U.S.-supervised security forces such as the police. "The victims were either new army recruits at the recruitment station waiting to enlist or civilians," Piek said. Saddam Hussein’s 375,000-strong armed forces were disbanded after their defeat last year but, in anticipation of next month’s return of sovereignty to an Iraqi interim government, U.S. commanders are overseeing recruitment to a new army. "With only 47 days until the transfer of sovereignty, this attack on Iraqi armed forces shows the desperate nature of the terrorist forces who are trying to hinder Iraqi progress toward security and prosperity," Piek said. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |