13 dead, 170 injured in Iraqi suicide bomb attacks
Thirteen people were killed and 170 wounded in a series of attacks in Iraq yesterday.
Four Bulgarian soldiers and two Thais were among the victims. They were the first fatalities for both countries. The soldiers were part of a Polish-led multinational coalition force patrolling south-central Iraq.
Six Iraqi police officers and a civilian also died.
Officials reported three primary attacks – one against the governor’s office and two against military bases – one Bulgarian and one Polish.
Insurgents launched four suicide car bombs, firing machine guns and unleashing mortar fire.
Karbala Governor Akram al-Yasseri said a suicide bomber exploded a tanker outside the Bulgarian military base.
One of four suicide bombers entered the Bulgarian base, destroying a building where the headquarters of the unit was located, Bulgarian Deputy Defence Minister Ilko Dimitrov said in Sofia.
Four Bulgarian soldiers were killed and 27 others were wounded, Mr Dimitrov said.
A car bomb killed two Thai soldiers on guard duty when the vehicle slammed into their camp’s wall.
Meanwhile, the first Japanese noncombat troops left for Iraq on Friday, beginning the Asian country’s biggest overseas military deployment since World War II.
