Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Chlorine truck bomb attacks in Falluja
Security
(Reuters) - Insurgents with two chlorine truck bombs attacked a local government building in Falluja, western
Iraq, on Wednesday and 15 Iraqi and U.S. security forces were injured, the U.S. military said. "Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.
It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs. Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers. It was not immediately clear if they were referring to the same incident but the U.S. statement was sent to Reuters in response to a query about the earlier report.
"Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound," the U.S. statement said. "Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound." U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas that poisoned hundreds of people in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq.
Iraq, on Wednesday and 15 Iraqi and U.S. security forces were injured, the U.S. military said. "Numerous Iraqi soldiers and policemen are being treated for symptoms such as labored breathing, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting that are synonymous with chlorine inhalation," a U.S. statement said.
It said no Iraqi or U.S. forces were killed in what it called a "complex attack" using mortars and small arms as well as the truck bombs. Earlier Iraqi police said two car bombs exploded near an Iraqi checkpoint outside a U.S. military base in Falluja, killing eight Iraqi soldiers. It was not immediately clear if they were referring to the same incident but the U.S. statement was sent to Reuters in response to a query about the earlier report.
"Iraqi police identified the first suicide attacker and fired on the truck, causing it to detonate before reaching the compound," the U.S. statement said. "Iraqi Army soldiers spotted the second suicide truck approaching the gate and engaged it with small arms fire, causing it to also detonate near the entrance of the compound." U.S. commanders and the Iraqi government have blamed al Qaeda militants for several recent attacks using chlorine gas that poisoned hundreds of people in Anbar, a restive mainly Sunni Arab province in western Iraq.
Labels: Al Qaeda, chlorine bombs, complex attack, Fallujah, security forces
