US, UK consulates in Basra shelled

[TexasLawyer]

From AlJazeera

Sunday 02 January 2005, 22:17 Makka Time, 19:17 GMT

The US and UK consulates in Basra came under heavy attack, Aljazeera has learned, hours after a car bomb ripped through a bus carrying Iraqi National Guard personnel in the city of Balad.

An unidentified group fired a heavy barrage of mortar fire late on Sunday at both consulates. British troops raced to the scene and fired at the source of the shelling. No casualties or damage have yet been reported.

The mortar attack in Basra comes at the conclusion of a particularly bloody day which saw the killing of 25 Iraqi guardsmen, marking the deadliest attack of its kind in nearly four months.

Usama al-Samarrai, an Iraqi journalist, told Aljazeera quoting official sources that a bus was transporting 25 guardsmen and they were all killed in Sunday's attack.<snip>

Also, reports of other violence all over Iraq:

In other developments, a fire broke out in an oil pipeline when an explosive device, planted by unidentified men, went off in al-Fatha area, north of Baiji city. And in Kirkuk, a number of westerners were injured when an explosive device targeted their car in al-Sinai (industrial) neighbourhood, north of the city.


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http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/8EF07A6A-7685-4D43-BDAE-690B43DD35AE.htm

[Benhurst]

1. Pay no attention. They are just jealous. NT

[Barrett808]

2. So, 100,000 Iraqi "troops" for 9,000 polling stations...

That's about 11 troops per station. The US is apparently committing no GIs to protecting the polling stations.

Am I wrong to think that this dog won't hunt?

[bemildred]

3. Sounds like a recipe for a massacre to me. nt