Dozens Pick Through Rubble in Search for Survivors

[BeyondGeography]

By JOHN F. BURNS, JEFFREY GETTLEMAN and DEXTER FILKINS
NEW YORK TIMES
Published: March 17, 2004

BAGHDAD, Iraq, March 17 — A massive explosion ripped through a Baghdad neighborhood today, killing at least 27 people, the military said. The blast caused severe damage to an apartment building and a hotel, the Mount Lebanon, in the Karada district of Baghdad, and it shot a huge fireball into the night sky.

Col. Ralph Baker, commander of the Second Brigade of the Army's First Armored Division, said that in addition to the 27 dead, 41 people were injured.

There were differing reports initially on whether the explosion was caused by a car bomb or a rocket. But later Colonel Baker said that it was most likely a 1,000-pound car bomb and that the attack fit the profile of either Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a Jordanian with ties to Al Qaeda, or the militant Islamic group Ansar al-Islam. He described the bomb as being a combination of plastic explosives and artillery shells, according to The Associated Press. The mixture is the same as that used in August in the bombing of United Nations headquarters here.

Today's attack comes two days before the first anniversary of the start of the war, at a time when the occupying forces have been eager to show that the security situation is under control. It also continued a week of violence that has extended to attacks on foreign civilians. On Tuesday, two Europeans were killed in a drive-by shooting in southern Iraq. On Monday, a similar attack resulted in the deaths of four American missionaries.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/17/international/middleeast/17CND-BAGH.html?hp

[BootinUp]

1. its just the terrorists getting desperate again - move along